Blood and Snow
by DiscordianSamba
Summary: Heiji Hattori has never believed in the supernatural. Things like vampires have always been a bunch of nonsense to him. But the supernatural is about to prove itself real. Heiji/Kazuha, mainly.
1. The Start of Something World Shifting

Author's Note: Well, I somewhat sheepishly present my first (rather unplanned) Detective Conan fan fiction. I guess this is what happens when you spend three days marathon reading the manga and combine that with a love of the supernatural, but here we are! There were a few other stories I saw in this vein around the site, but I thought I'd try my hand at writing one myself... In many ways, this is also something of a writing exercise for me, since I haven't actually sat down to write a story in half of forever.

Reviews are always more than welcome, and hopefully people aren't too out of character, considering this is the first time I've ever written for this series. It's a bit embarrassing, really...

* * *

Blood and Snow

Chapter One: The Start of Something World Shifting

Hattori Heiji wasn't exactly one to believe in the supernatural.

Sure, there were his childhood friend, Kazuha's good luck charms, one of which he carried on his person constantly, but that seemed to be his limit on the matter. Even then, he didn't exactly _fully _believe in the supposed power of the charm, in spite of it saving the life of his best friend, Kudo Shinichi at one point. It was after all, something that could have been passed off as mere coincidence at the time. As far as Heiji believed, there wasn't exactly any reason to suspect that something like supernatural forces were at work, as there was no proof to attest to this fact.

Or any proof really, to attest to the existence of the supernatural at all, for that matter. Every piece of evidence of such things as ghosts and monsters that he had come across had always turned out to be faked in some manner. Until he actually encountered decisive proof that couldn't be argued against, he would be holding on to his skepticism, thank you very much.

And yet for all of his firm beliefs in the matter, here he was, doubting them. His own eyes were showing him a different kind of reality than what he was used to, something that made him question his firmly held beliefs. What he was seeing should be impossible- there had to be some sort of other explanation for it than what his mind found itself almost automatically jumping to. After all, he was a person of logic- a detective, hardly one to be given over to supernatural fantasies. And yet...

It was pretty hard to deny the existence of what was in front of him. What was coming _at _him, rather.

And to think that the day had started off so nice.

* * *

It was the early morning, the sun having only been up for about an hour or two on this winter day. There was a bit of snow falling here and there, but it was starting to clear up, clouds giving way to clear, blue skies. Aforementioned sun was starting to peek out of the aforementioned clouds now, shining down on the white powder that coated the ground and the buildings alike. Just as the last of the snowfall was ceasing, a bus pulled up, carefully maneuvering it's way through the snowy roads.

"We're finally here~" Came a girl's tired voice as the doors to the bus opened up. Stretching a bit and glancing behind her, she looked towards her companions. "Come on, hurry up!"

"We're coming Sonoko, just a second." Light blue eyes flickered briefly over towards her friend, before glancing down to the young boy who sat next to her. "Come on, Conan-kun, let's go." She said, smiling down at him as she stood up and offered him a hand. "I bet you and Ai-chan are looking forward to trying out the slopes, right?" She asked, briefly glancing over at the young girl who was getting out of the seat behind them.

"Mm, we sure are, Ran-neechan!" Came the perky, chipper sounding voice of the young boy with glasses next to her. Conan took the hand offered, getting off the seat and grabbing the bag he had carried on with him, all while letting off an irritated internal sigh that didn't breach his face at being treated like a kid, once again. He was perfectly capable of getting down _without _that helping hand. Of course, since it was Ran's hand, he decided against letting his protests show on his face.

Well, what exactly would one expect when that was exactly what you looked like?

"Does he even know how to ski?" Sonoko asked incredulously, glancing down at Conan as he came off the bus with Ran, Ai following behind the pair. "He doesn't exactly look like the type."

"I do!" Conan protested. He did, in fact. Granted, he hadn't gone skiing that often since having his body shrunken- but he did know how to ski, and thought himself fairly good at it.

"Well, if he says so." Sonoko said, arching an eyebrow, remaining unconvinced, shifting her bag on her shoulder. "Well, for now, let's get checked in, I guess." She said, glancing over towards the ski lodge where they would be staying over the next three days.

"That's right. Do you both have everything from the bus?" Ran asked, glancing back at Conan and Ai, to which the pair nodded in acknowledgment. She still was holding Conan's hand in her own, worried that he would wander off somewhere as he was want to do sometimes- of course, that was mostly during investigations, but he'd been known to do it off and on. It was almost as if he didn't feel that he needed to company of an adult (or at least, somewhere of an older age) around him. Ai was a bit similar, but the air of maturity she exuded had Ran convinced she could at least walk about without the need of someone holding her hand.

"Ah, that's right." Sonoko said, as if suddenly remembering. "We're meeting someone here, right? Kazuha-chan and her _boyfriend_~ right?" She said, the part coming out rather teasingly, followed by a playful grin that matched her tone of voice.

"That's right." Ran said, nodding her head. "Ah, but I wouldn't say that sort of thing in front of either of them. Kazuha-chan still hasn't said anything and Hattori-kun's a bit... clueless on that matter." She said, putting it lightly.

"Tch, after all this time?" Sonoko said, half rolling her eyes as they trudged towards the ski lodge. "I can't decide which of you guys is worse- you and Shinichi-kun, or those two." She shrugged her shoulders. "Well, I guess at least Shinichi-kun has the excuse of not being around." She paused, tilting her head to one side as if considering her words. "Or rather, doesn't that make him the worse? He can't even be bothered to hang around you, too busy with whatever weirdo case that's been taking up so much of his time."

_I'm right here, oi. _Conan couldn't help but think to himself, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. The brief snicker he heard from Ai's direction didn't exactly help matters much. It wasn't exactly like it was by choice, either- if he had any say in the matter, he would be normal sized and would be going on this ski trip with Ran as Shinichi, and not Conan.

"It's not like that." Ran protested, holding up her free hand. "I'm sure Shinichi would be here if he could. It's can't be helped that's he's been busy. He's a bit famous, after all." She said, sounding a little sheepish about the implications of Sonoko's words, but not exactly denying them either.

"Well, whatever." Sonoko shrugged her shoulders, pushing open the door to the lodge. "Anyways, did they say they'd be here before or after us? If we're going to take advantage of that prize package that you won, don't we all need to be here for it?" She asked, glancing back at Ran.

That was the cause of the ski trip, a three day, two night prize package that Ran had won from a raffle. Of course, as it turned out, it would be null and void if she didn't have five other people besides herself to bring along with her. Thus resulting in a quick call to Kazuha, in order to confirm with the Osakan girl that she and Heiji could make it to the trip, to which the answer was a slightly hesitant yes. Ran had heard that Kazuha couldn't really ski, and wondered if she was really doing the right thing by inviting her along- she didn't want to put her on the spot or make her feel uncomfortable going somewhere that she might not have any fun in. But it seemed like her excitement over seeing Ran again won out, not to mention Heiji's enthusiasm over seeing Conan again, who he appeared to have grown rather close to.

"I'm not really sure- I think we could just hang out in the lobby for awhile until they come, if they aren't already here. I don't think it should take them that long to catch up if that's case..." Ran drifted off a bit as she followed Sonoko in, scanning the lodge, looking for the Osakan pair.

"Ah!" Conan pointed off somewhere, before glancing up at Ran with big smile. "There's Heiji-niichan and Kazuha-neechan!" He said, enthusiastically. Part of that wasn't exactly faked, Conan was more than pleased at a chance to see his friend and rival again (and perhaps, hopefully, to have a peaceful trip with him where no dead bodies or missing people turned up).

"Ah." Heiji's ears perked up upon hearing Conan's voice, glancing in the direction it came from. Spotting the quartet, he flashed a grin towards them, setting down the hot chocolate he'd been drinking and heading over towards them. "About time you four turned up! I was startin' to suspect the whole lot of you had gotten lost."

"You're here earlier than I suspected you would be." Ran confessed, letting go of Conan's hand now that they were safely inside, sure that he would like to talk with Heiji himself. "Sorry about that." She apologized.

"Ah, don't worry about it." Heiji said, waving a hand. Jerking back his hand, he pointed towards Kazuha without really looking at her. "This idiot had to drag us out 'ere this early."

"Who's the idiot?" Kazuha huffed, joining them. "If we'd done it your way, Heiji, we'd be here super late and cause problems for Ran-chan."

Heiji gave her a rather unconvinced look, before turning towards Conan, his grin reappearing. "Yo, Ku-" he stopped himself quickly, realizing what he was about to say, "...Conan-kun." He corrected himself, playfully reaching over to ruffle his hair, the teasing look on his face hinting that he knew full well that Conan didn't particularly care for this, but just messing with him anyways. He got the usual glare from the pint-sized detective in response, but it didn't make Heiji's grin flinch in the slightest. "Been a while!"

"Same here, Heiji-niichan!" Conan said, donning the mask of the chipper child once more, wishing that Heiji could take a little more care with his words. For all that he trusted Heiji implicitly, the Western Detective wasn't exactly the world's best liar-at least when he wasn't involved with a case. "I'm happy you could make it!"

"Oh, I see you brought along Ai-chan too." Kazuha noted, glancing down at the light brown haired girl. She'd never really spoken to her all that much, and something about the strange mature air that she gave off was a little off-putting, but at the same time, she found herself wanting to know a bit more about her. She was probably just another precocious kid, just like Conan, considering how often the two were found around the other, talking almost in secret.

"That's right. I was going to invite dad along at first..." Ran said, not noticing Heiji's grimace in the background. "But he said he wasn't really interested. So I asked Conan-kun if any of the Detective Boys were free to come along." She explained. Although Conan had told her that the rest of the Detective Boys were busy, in truth the only person he had asked was Ai, and never really intended to ask any of the others. For one thing, he wasn't convinced that they would be able to decide between themselves fairly which one would go, and the other three would probably still want to come along anyways, adding an extra cost to the trip that he wasn't sure the Mouris had the funds to pay for.

"I see!" Kazuha said, nodding her head. "I hope we get along, Ai-chan!" She offered the supposedly younger girl her hand, smiling broadly at her.

"Likewise." Ai said, taking Kazuha's hand and giving it a small shake.

"Well, we're all here now, so why don't we check in?" Sonoko offered, having observed the reunion between friends. "Ran, you have the prize certificate, right?" She asked.

"Right here." The dark brown haired girl said, pulling the certificate out of her bag, where she had put it for safe-keeping. "I'll be back in a second." She said, then paused, glancing back. "I'm assuming Conan-kun and Hattori-kun will want to stay in a room together... Ai-chan, do you want to stay with the three of us? I can't imagine you would want to room with two boys."

"Yes, that would be fine." Ai said, smiling slightly at Ran. "If it's not too much trouble."

"Not at all!" Ran said happily. She was able to talk to Ai more often these days. Usually, she was so withdrawn and had been hard to get along with at first. It seemed like she was actually trying to be hard to get along with at first, to be honest- but after awhile, that had melted away a bit. She still gave off a bit of an unapproachable air sometimes, as if she carried some sort of burden on her shoulders (but what kind of burden could a seven year old girl possibly have?), but it mellowed out a bit once you got to know her some. Room arrangements decided, Ran headed over to the main desk where she went through the process of checking them in and getting their room keys. After listening to the various instructions, such as when meals would be served and when the baths would be open, she headed back to the rest of the group, room keys in hand.

"A pair of keys for you two." She began, handing a key to Heiji and Conan each, with a light reminder to Conan to not lose it. "And keys for the rest of us." She said, passing out the remaining room keys to Kazuha, Sonoko, and Ai. "Our rooms are right next to each other, on the second floor." She told them, before repeating the information that the man at the desk had provided her with.

"Then, why don't we go put our stuff down and hit the slopes?" Sonoko asked, glancing around the group. "Maybe we can find a cute ski instructor for you to hang out with to make Shinichi-kun jealous~" She suggested, leaning on Ran's shoulder a bit, a playful look crossing her face.

Conan twitched a bit at the suggestion, and was secretly pleased when Ran, a bundle of nerves, blew off the offer, much to Sonoko's great disappointment.

"Then, we'll meet up back in the lodge around..." Ran paused briefly, to glance at her watch. "Let's see, around twelve thirty. That should give us plenty of time to get some lunch when they serve it at one." She said, before glancing down at Conan. "Will you be alright with Hattori-kun, Conan-kun?" She asked him, leaning down a little bit in order to make better eye contact.

"Mm!" Conan nodded, grateful that he would be sharing a room with Heiji. Trying to act like a proper little kid all the time could get rather tiring. "It'll be fun to talk with Heiji-niichan!"

"Okay." Ran said, smiling at him before straightening back up. "Then, let's find our rooms."

* * *

As they were putting their things away, Heiji couldn't help but let out a big yawn, catching Conan's attention.

The shrunken detective glanced over at his friend, raising an eyebrow. "So exactly how early did Kazuha get you up this morning?"

"Too early." Heiji said dryly, rolling his eyes in remembrance. It wasn't exactly like he wasn't used to late hours what with his line of work, but it was an entirely different thing when it was by choice. "Not enough coffee in the world. Don't know how she's not tired herself."

"It's a mystery." Conan said, shrugging his shoulders. "Not really one I care to solve either. Speaking of which, how has that been going for you?" He asked, unzipping his bag and pulling out his clothes, starting to stow them away in the provided dresser.

"I've solved four cases since I've seen you last." Heiji declared, holding up his fingers to display the number in question. "Which considerin' it was all of last month that I did, manages to be both an accomplishment and a bit distressin' actually." He admitted, rubbing the back of his head a bit. "Such much for Japan's low crime rates."

Conan snorted a bit in response. "Well, hopefully this will be a normal trip for once, without any kind of calamity." He paused then, glancing around nervously for a moment as if he expected to hear a scream of some kind. When none came, he visibly relaxed somewhat, heaving a sigh. It was becoming something of a grim running joke that the two of them couldn't go anywhere without someone tripping over a dead body. It would be nice, for once, to have a normal vacation with his friend.

Well, as normal as one could get when you had been shrunken down to a seven year old.

"By the way, from the way Neechan doesn't seem to be worried 'bout comin' here, I guess she hasn't heard about the rumors about this place?" Heiji asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Rumors?" Conan asked, glancing up at Heiji. "What rumors?" He asked again. Though, knowing Ran as he did, he had an inkling of what the rumors could be about. There was one thing that his childhood friend hated more than anything- and that would be ghosts stories.

"Vampires." Heiji said, a slight chuckle could be heard in his voice as if he himself thought the idea was laughable. "Apparently maybe around a hundred years ago, there was some kind of vampire killer that used to lurk around this area. Supposedly they sealed 'em up somewhere in this very area."

"Vampires?" Conan said skeptically, eyebrows arched. "I would have suspected another story about Yukionna, or maybe a Yeti, but vampires- really?"

"Well, that's what I heard." Heiji said, shrugging his shoulders. "Thought it was a bit strange myself. Well, hopefully Neechan won't learn about it, wouldn't wanna spoil the trip she's been looking for-" He was cut off then by a small shriek from Ran next door and heaved a sigh, rubbing his forehead. It didn't take a genius or a detective to know that was not exactly the same kind of scream she let out whenever she stumbled over a dead body. "Annd someone just told her huh."

"Sounds like it. Probably Sonoko." Conan said, heaving a sigh himself. "Well, if it's vampires, at least she should be calm while it's still light out." He reasoned. "Not that there would ever be any such thing."

"I know, right?" Heiji said, grinning a little as he finished unpacking. "By the way, Kudo." He began, glancing over at the Eastern Detective. "Are you sure you can even keep up with me with that shrimpy body of yours?" He asked him, changing the topic with one of his usual teasing grins.

Conan shot a glare back towards him. "I think I can handle keeping up with a hot blooded detective. Be careful not to melt all the snow in your wake, Hattori." He shot back.

"Oh, interesting!" Heiji grinned, taking this as a challenge. "You're on then, Kudo."

* * *

"Are you sure you'll be fine, Kazuha-chan?" Ran questioned, looking unconvinced at her Osakan friend. "We came all this way to ski after all... You don't even want to try?" Ai had already decided to stay in their room and read some novels, so she was a bit disappointed that Kazuha wouldn't be joining them either.

"Well." Kazuha began, sounding a bit sheepish. "Skiing isn't really my thing, you know, Ran-chan. I'll be fine here in the lobby." She assured her friend.

"Are you sure you don't want to find a good looking ski instructor to teach you in order to make a certain someone jealous~" Sonoko suggested in her usual teasing manner, clearly having not quite given up on that idea yet.

Kazuha blushed at the suggestion, shaking her head. "There's no way he'd even care about something like that to start with!" She said, mouth twisting into a slight frown as she thought about it. She'd tried to confess to Heiji any number of times... and it just never really worked out for her. There were a few times, even, when she thought he was about to confess to her- but that never really worked out either. She was left sort of at a loss about how Heiji felt about her. She knew beyond a fraction of doubt that the two of them were close friends, and that there was no force on earth that could change that, in spite of how much they argued with each other. She just didn't know if the two of them would ever progress beyond that.

"You're no fun." Sonoko pouted, shrugging her shoulders. "Anyways, you should give it a try, Kazuha-chan. You won't get any better if you just avoid it." She pointed out.

"That's true, but..." Kazuha began, before she got cut off.

"If you don't want to go skiing, why don't you give me a hand then?" A friendly woman's voice offered. A young woman, who appeared to be in her early twenties, approached them, a photographer, from the looks of the equipment peeking out from her duffel bag and the camera around her neck. She had a curly mess of black hair that was currently being held back in short ponytail, clipped out of her eyes with silver and gold barrettes, and dark brown eyes. Her jacket was a rather shocking pink color, impossible to miss. "Ah, pardon me. I couldn't help but overhear you girls." She said, seeming a little bit flustering at having revealed herself to be eavesdropping, however inadvertently. "My name is Yukishiro Riko." She introduced herself.

"Ah, I'm Mouri Ran." Ran introduced herself, then glanced over at both of her friends. "These are my friends, Suzuki Sonoko and Toyama Kazuha." She introduced the two of them, both of whom nodded back in acknowledgement to Riko. "Are you a photographer, Yukishiro-san?" She inquired.

"That's right!" She said cheerfully. "I take photographs for various nature magazines." She told the girls. "Are you three here on a girl's trip?" She asked them, glancing between them.

"Ah, not really." Kazuha said. "There's three other people along with us too, but they aren't here at the moment." She told her. "We won a trip in a raffle." She told Riko.

"Ah, I see. How lucky!" Riko said. "I never win anything." She told them with a small chuckle.

"What's this about helping you, though?" Kazuha asked, sounding a bit curious. It would give her something to do, after all, and a good excuse not to make a fool of herself out on the slopes.

"Ah that's right." Riko said, laughing a little. "I was supposed to meet my assistant, Masaru here today for a nature photo shoot... but he just called me and told me that he wouldn't be able to make it. Seems like he got a bad case of food poisoning last night. If you ask me though, it's just due to plain over eating. He'll eat everything in sight if you let him." She chuckled. "Well, it's put me in a bit of a bind, seeing as I've got a deadline in two days, and I'm not really sure I'll be able to manage everything by myself."

"I see. That does troublesome." Kazuha said, considering the offer. "But I don't really know much about photography."

"That's okay, you don't really have to." Riko told her. "Mostly it's just a lot of carrying things and setting things up." She told her. "Not much technical stuff, but a lot of work. And you look like a strong girl, after all! I'm afraid I'm a little lacking on the physical strength side." She admitted, teetering a little to the side her bag was slung over as if in example.

"Mm I guess it sounds a little fun." Kazuha said after a moment. "Sure, why not? Ah, but I have to meet everyone back here by twelve thirty, at least." She recalled, glancing over at Sonoko and Ran.

"No problem! I should be heading in for lunch myself at that time." Riko told her with a bright smile, seemingly pleased at having found some help. "You're such a nice girl!" She complimented her brightly. Setting down her bag, she rubbed the shoulder that it had been hanging on for a moment, making a small face as if were sore from just this short period of time. "I had to cram most of my stuff into this bag since Masaru wasn't around... if you give me just a second, I'll go back to my room and get another bag to split things up in. My room's just on the first floor, so shouldn't take more than a second." She told Kazuha.

"Sure, I'll watch this one!" Kazuha agreed, before turning back to Ran and Sonoko. "So there you have it. I guess I'll be helping Yukishiro-san." She told the pair. "You two have fun skiing." She paused, and then, as an afterthought, put her hand on Ran's shoulder, and lowered her voice somewhat. "Ran-chan, keep an eye on Heiji, will ya? I want to make sure that he's not taking this chance to flirt with any pretty girls." For all that she wasn't entirely sure as to what their own relationship status was, to hell with it if she was going to let Heiji flirt with strange women.

"Alright, I'll keep an eye on him." Ran laughed a little. For someone who wasn't actually dating him, Kazuha could get rather possessive of Heiji. On the other hand, she often found herself feeling the same way about Shinichi, so she supposed that she could hardly talk.

* * *

"Eh, so you came along with your childhood friend and two kids who live in Mouri-san's neighborhood, huh?" Riko asked curiously, having selected a spot in which to take photographs in for the moment. The gentle snow from earlier in the morning had gone away, leaving it a rather clear, sunny day, perfect for taking some photos. She was sizing up the spot with her hands, trying to determine which would be the best shots to take.

"That's right." Kazuha said, setting down the bag she was carrying and setting it down, crouching over to unzip it. "Since I'm from Osaka, I don't get many chances to see Ran-chan, so I take them as they come." She told her. "Well, Heiji is always eager to see Conan-kun, so he wanted to come along too. They get along really well, like brothers." She told Riko. "Yukishiro-san, what do you need for your shots?"

"Ah, that's right." Riko came over crouching down and pulling out a tripod. "Could you set this, let's see..." She trailed off, eyes scanning the area around them. "How about over there, by that fallen log?" She asked Kazuha, pointing over towards it. She nodded as Kazuha took it from her. "That's right, that's perfect!"

"And? This childhood friend of yours is named Heiji?" She asked Kazuha, while taking a final survey of the area, and nodding to herself. "From what I heard earlier, it sounds a bit like you want something more from that..." She commented innocently, laughing a little as Kazuha's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Well, it's none of my business, I suppose. My friends are always telling me that I'm too nosy for my own good! I can't help it though." She admitted, trudging through the snow to where Kazuha was.

"Well, I sometimes feel that way..." Kazuha admitted, sounding a bit sheepish herself, awkwardly shifting her feet back and forth in the snow. "I've tried confessing to him before, but it usually doesn't go very well." She told her. "It doesn't help that more than half the time, he's up to his ears in a case or something like that. It just seems like he's always busy with something these days, you know?"

"Case?" Riko asked, glancing over at her as she removed the camera that was slung around her neck. "What do you mean by that?"

"Ah, he's something of a detective." Kazuha told her, scratching her cheek a bit. "He's known in some circles as the Great Detective of the West. He's solved a bunch of cases in the past. I think he gets it from his father."

"A detective, huh?" Riko said, a considering look on her face. "Do you think I could possibly consult with him on a matter that's been bothering me?" She asked her.

"A matter? What do you mean?" Kazuha inquired.

"Ah, well you see." Riko began, moving to unzip her jacket, pulling it back a bit. Around her neck, concealed by the jacket, was a necklace pendent on a golden chain, a gold fan backing holding a teardrop shaped pearl in place. "It's about this." She said, holding the pendent up a bit so that Kazuha could see it. "It was passed down to me from my great-great grandmother. I don't really look it, since there haven't really been any foreigners in the family since then, but she was British." She told her. "It was the last great work of a famous English jewelry maker who was close to my great-great grandmother. Or, part of a set, actually. He made them for his wedding not long before he passed away."

"Heh, it's pretty." Kazuha commented, to which Riko smiled, zipping her jacket back up again.

"It is, right?" Riko said. "He also made a pair of earrings and two bracelets to be worn with it for her, but due to various circumstances, this is the only piece we have left." She told her. "Naturally as his last piece, it's pretty valuable, so I've always had a lot of people bothering me to sell it. That's nothing new." She told her. "But since it's the last piece of something that was important to my great-great grandmother, I don't like the idea of having to part with it."

"At any rate, recently, I've been getting some strange notes in my mailbox." Riko confessed. "It seems whoever is sending them wants to get their hands on my necklace no matter what." She told Kazuha. "It's getting to be a bit of problem... they've even gone so far as to breaking into my house once." Upon hearing a slight gasp from Kazuha, she shook her hands in front of her, as if to alleviate the girl's worries. "Ah, I wasn't home then, and it seems like they ran away almost as soon as they got the door open, so nothing went missing... As for the necklace, I always wear it wherever I go, so it wasn't even left at home in the first place."

"Ran away?" Kazuha inquired. "They took all that effort to break in just to flee straight away?" She asked her. It seemed a bit strange.

"Ah, that's probably because of my dog, Tarou." Riko said with a small laugh. "He's a pure blooded Doberman, so he can look a bit intimidating, so I guess he ran straight for the door and scared them away." She chuckled a little at that. "Whoever they are must not know me very well though- Tarou is well known in the neighborhood for being a sweet dog. Whenever someone comes to the door, he's right there, wanting to play with them. But I guess to a complete stranger, it could be somewhat intimidating..."

"That's certainly true." Kazuha nodded her head. "From what I gather, you want to ask Heiji to find out who is sending these notes, right?" She asked her.

"That's right, if it wouldn't be too much trouble." Riko said. "I've asked the police to look into the matter as well, but they don't seem to be coming up with any answers... and I'd sort of like this to be taken care of as soon as possible, before I start getting all paranoid about it."

"I'll talk to him about it at lunch then!" Kazuha told her, giving her a smile.

"Ah, wonderful." Riko said, clapping her hands. "That takes a load off of my mind, Toyama-san." Clearing her throat. "Well, with that out of the way, how about we take some pictures?"

* * *

Time had churned on by, and by this point, everyone had gathered together to eat the lunch that was being provided by the lodge. Heiji and Conan hadn't really seemed to settle their skiing grudge match from either, both of them eying each other across the table, as if silently telling the other that they would finish this after they ate lunch. Ran assured Kazuha that Heiji was far too busy competing with Conan to flirt with any girls. When she asked Ran about the time she had spent helping out Riko, Kazuha quickly got into the story she had heard from the photographer.

"So she's gettin' a bunch of threatening notes, and someone tried to break into her house, huh?" Heiji asked, after hearing the story. Part of him, as excited as he was at the prospect of a case falling into his lap, was also hoping that it stayed at a bunch of notes and an attempted break in. "Obviously from someone who knows about the value of that fancy necklace. What do you think, Ku-no, Conan-kun?" He asked glancing over at the shrunken detective, who was sitting between Ai and Ran.

"Well, it would be a good idea to see the notes in question." Conan said thoughtfully, putting off munching on some rice. "They obviously don't know her well enough to know that she keeps the necklace with her at all times, and aren't aware of her dog's personality." He theorized.

"But it sounds pretty. I sure would like to see it myself." Sonoko said. "How nice, to have an exclusive set of jewelry designed by someone so famous for your wedding." She said, her expression hinting at the fact that she was envisioning her own wedding, with said fancy jewelry, most likely between her and Makoto.

"I'm sure she would show you them if you asked." Kazuha said, setting down her chopsticks. "She said she was going back to her room to get something, but she would be down in awhile." She told them, pushing her chair back a little. "I'm going to step out for a second myself. Watch my things?" She asked them, standing up. As she did, there was a small sound, of something falling out of her jacket pocket. Blinking, she peered down, wondering what it could have been. She hadn't put anything in there, had she?

"Is this it?" Ai offered, the object coming to rest against her foot. Leaning down underneath the table, she picked it up, revealing it to be a film canister.

"Probably." Kazuha said, leaning across the table to take it with a small frown. "It looks like on of Yukishiro-san's film canisters... I wonder how it got in my jacket." She said, giving it a brief shake. There was a strange clatter inside the canister, though it also seemed to be muted by something.

"That doesn't exactly sound like film. Let me see it." Heiji told her, extending a hand to take it, a small frown appearing on his face as Kazuha passed it over to him. Uncorking the lid, he frowned a bit, before reaching in to pull out it's contents. Dangling from one hand was a golden chain, and sure enough, attached to it was the pendent in question. The other hand held a small, folded white piece of paper.

"Eh?" Kazuha blinked. "That's Yukishiro-san's necklace... what was it doing inside my jacket pocket?" She asked, sounding confused.

* * *

Silent still, Heiji unfolded the note in question, eyes scanning over it. Conan had come around to his side of the table, and was reading over it as well. As they read, their expressions turned grim, and Heiji looked up at Kazuha. "Wasn't this Yukishiro-san acting strangely at all while taking photos with you?"

"Strangely?" Kazuha began, a worried look coming across her face. "I guess she was, when we were heading back to the lodge... she suddenly got a phone call. Before that I think she was planning coming straight in to have lunch, but she changed her mind suddenly, and went back to her room at first. It seemed the call bothered her a little, but..." she trailed off, as if something clicked together in her mind.

Just a few seconds later, a shriek let loose from the floor just above them.

It seemed like this case wasn't going to simply stop at some notes and an attempted break in, after all.

* * *

Author's Note: I actually sort of meant to dive more into the supernatural stuff by the end of this chapter... but I didn't quite get there, as it turned out! Presumably, it will show up more in the next chapter.


	2. Some Legends Are True

Author's Note: And then, a wild second chapter appeared! I promised I would get into the supernatural stuff with this one, and I did. There's still one more chapter left to wrap up this introductory case before heading towards the main plot, from the looks of things.

* * *

Blood and Snow

Chapter Two: Some Legends are True

As the sound of a women's scream ripped it's way through the lodge, Conan and Heiji were already in motion, the Osakan Detective only stopping for a brief second to collect the film canister, note, and necklace, tucking them away in his pocket. The two detectives raced towards the source of the sound, and judging from the footsteps, they were being followed close by the rest of the girls. They found their feet carrying them towards the furthest end of the hallway, to a room in the far back of the first floor. In front of it, having fallen on her rear, was what appeared to be a housekeeper, her eyes wide and her skin as pale as snow.

Heiji and Conan arrived at the room in question almost simultaneously, skidding to a stop behind the fallen maid. Eyes scanning over the room, Heiji swore underneath his breath, some of his worst fears coming to realization. At one glance, it was obvious that the room in front of them had been broken into and thoroughly ransacked, like whoever did it was searching for something. Clothes were strewn about without care, the sheets pulled off the bed, suitcases wide open and camera equipment carelessly thrown about.

From the sound of a drawn in breath behind them, Heiji knew that the girls had caught up with them, and turned towards them. "Neechan, Kazuha, call the police, _quickly_. And make sure to not let anyone else into this room!" He told them, before carefully following Conan into the crime scene, moving carefully so as to not disturb any evidence. Carefully side stepping to avoid a broken camera on the floor, Heiji studied the room carefully. There was one thing in all this mess that was noticeably missing, and that was the occupant of the room in question. Eyes narrowing, he exchanged glances with Conan.

"It's hard to see in all of this mess, but from the looks of things, it seems like there are signs of struggle here." Conan observed. It was true- most likely the reason for Riko's distinct absence was that she had been taken some place else. A shiver briefly ran up his spine, and his eyes were drawn to an opened window. "Heiji-niichan, come look at this." He said, heedful of the fact that Ran and Kazuha were still right outside the door, the former on the phone with the police. That brought a brief internal wince, as he suddenly recalled exactly who was in charge of this district, but he quickly put the matter from his mind. It was hardly of the utmost importance right now, however annoying the Inspector in question was.

"The window, huh?" Heiji asked, carefully making his way across the room. Poking his head out of it, he glanced right, left, then up, eyes narrowing as he assessed the situation. Looking down, he noticed that there was a large indention in the ground, as if something had been dropped there. Beyond that, there appeared to be footprints heading off towards the ski slopes. "Obliviously our criminal didn't put much an effort into coverin' their tracks... Not much of an escape plan." He observed, before pulling his head back in and glancing down at Conan.

A light snow had started to fall again at this point, and the skies were starting to cloud over again, and Heiji's expression darkened. It seemed that there was another batch of snow headed their way. Absently, he reached for the brim of his usual baseball cap, only to realize that today, he was wearing a ski cap instead of it. Putting his hand down, and taking another glance out the window, he made up his mind. "Unless they expected the weather to take care of it. Which it will, if this snow keeps up, and pretty quickly too."

"Kud-no, Conan-kun. You handle things with the girls and the police here. I'll see what I can do about those tracks out there." He told him. Conan grimaced internally, about protest, but Heiji cut him off, as if knowing what he was going to say before he said. "I can't let some shrunken brat run out there with a possible storm comin'. Neechan would have my hide if you got lost." He said, voice low enough so that the onlookers, who were gathering in quite the number now, wouldn't overhear them. Pausing for a moment, he fished into his jacket, and passed on the film canister to Conan. "Take care of these. If things look rough out there, I'll come back. Make sure to tell the police to send out men to thoroughly search the area when they get here."

"Judging from the lack of any blood, it's likely that this Yukishiro-san probably isn't dead quite yet." Conan observed, still not pleased with the idea of being the one stuck with dealing with police- but Heiji did have a point in the matter. Of the two of them, the Osakan Detective stood a better chance of dealing both with the elements and any encounters with the kidnapper in question. "Most likely she was moved to another location by someone asking about the whereabouts of this..." he jangled the film canister a bit, "...and in a hurry too, from the looks of it."

"Ah." Heiji agreed, nodding. "From the looks of it, seems like the entry was planned on... but someone was quite countin' on Yukishiro comin' back so quickly." He noted. "Well then, I don't have any more time to waste." With that, he carefully made his way out of the room, only stopping briefly to plant a hand on Kazuha's shoulder. "I'm going to see if I can follow the kidnapper's tracks. Are the police on the way?"

"Yeah." Kazuha told him. "But, Heiji, I heard that there was supposed to be a snow storm coming... are you sure you should be going out there?"

"Idiot, of course. Wasted time could make the difference between Yukishiro-san's life and death, and if we wait for a storm to blow over, we'll lose the tracks altogether." Heiji noted, his expression serious. "Don't worry, I'll be careful." With that last assurance, Heiji darted out of the inn, locating the window that lead out from Riko's room. Eyes following the trail left, and with a brief glance up at the sky, he followed after them.

* * *

"I knew it." Conan muttered underneath his breath, a plainly annoyed expression appearing on his face as the police arrived. "It's this guy's district after all." He muttered underneath his breath, rubbing his forehead. Dealing with a case while he was on vacation was bad enough, but having to deal with this person in question was only going to make it an even bigger headache.

"Inspector Yamamura, this way." Ran directed him, and the police inspector's eyes lit up as he recognized both Ran and Conan alike. It didn't take a skilled detective to determine what his next question would be.

"If it isn't you two!" Yamamura said, seeming almost delighted- one could almost see the excited gleam in his eyes as he pulled out a camcorder from- where exactly, Conan honestly wasn't entirely sure. "Where's Mouri-san?" He asked, looking about the scene with obvious excitement- which just as obviously quickly deflated when he didn't spot the mustached man anywhere. "He's not here this time either, is here?" He said, with a deep sigh.

"Sorry about that." Ran apologized, knowing that the Inspector was a big fan of her father. "I was just here on a trip with my friends and Conan-kun and Ai-chan." She told him.

"I see." Yamamura sighed again, sparing another moment for being disappointed, before remembering that he was on a case. "So, it's a possible kidnapping, then?"

"Given the ransacked state of the room and the notable lack of the occupant." Conan observed. "Most likely the victim returned to her room unexpectedly while the intruder was still there, and forced them to take more drastic measures." With a pause and a brief glance over at Ran, he perked up a bit and put on a big smile. "That's what Heiji-niichan said before he went off to follow the kidnapper's tracks!" He told them. "He also said that you should send out some men to comb over the area when you got here."

"A-ah." Yamamura stumbled over himself a bit, but he did manage to give off the orders, and selected a group of officers to begin the search, assigning another officer to call headquarters to see if they could bring up any other spare officers to join the search. "And the victim is?" He asked, glancing back at the group.

"Yukishiro Riko." Kazuha told him, a slightly worried expression on her face. It had been about a half hour since Heiji had attempted to follow after the kidnapper, and she was starting to grow worried about him. She knew her childhood friend better than anyone, and she knew exactly how reckless he could be sometimes. "She's a nature photographer who came up here to take some photos for a magazine." She told him, glancing back towards the ransacked room with a small frown. For some reason, in the back of her mind, there was a niggling sense that there was something missing from the scene- aside from Riko, that was.

"According to what she told Kazuha-neechan, she had been getting some strange notes in her mailbox recently." Conan offered, pulling out the film canister from his pocket. "And someone attempted to break into her house earlier. She wanted to consult with Heiji-niichan about it after lunch, but she never showed up. That's when Kazuha-neechan found this in her jacket pocket!" He said, holding up the canister to the Inspector, who took it with a brief curiosity.

"A necklace?" Yamamura looked puzzled, as he opened the canister and pulled the necklace from inside of it. Spotting the note, he carefully pulled it out and unfolded it, temporarily stowing the necklace back inside the canister as he read it. "Let's see... 'They are here.'" He blanched a little bit at the words. "W-what did she mean by that?" He stammered a little, his brain clearly darting off at something rather far from the truth.

"Probably, she meant that the culprit behind the notes and the break in is here!" Conan told him. "They thought they might be able to get her necklace if they followed her up here."

"Necklace? Is it really something that valuable?" Yamamura asked, glancing back into the film canister.

"So she said." Kazuha told him. "She said it belonged originally to her great-great grandmother. Part of set made for her by a famous jewelry maker of the time, his last work. Supposedly, it's quite valuable because of that, so people have always wanted to buy it from her." She repeated what she been told, before briefly glancing back into the room again, trying to put her finger on that strange feeling that was gnawing away at her. This time, Conan took a note of it. "That was the reason behind the strange notes she was getting recently as well."

"Kazuha-neechan, is something wrong?" Conan asked curiously, looking up at her. "You keep glancing back into the room every now and again." He said.

"Ah... it just seems like something is out of place to me." She said, pursing her lips into a frown, as if trying to puzzle out what it was. After a moment, it dawned on her, recognizing exactly what it was. "Yukishiro-san's big duffel bag!" She said after a minute. "That's right, it's not here."

"But there's one right here." Yamamura observed, motioning towards the shocking pink bag in question. "I hardly call that missing."

"No, she had two." Kazuha insisted. "That one that matched her jacket, and the one in a dark gray color. I remember because she went back to her room to get the gray one." She told them.

"I see." Conan observed. Most likely, that was how the culprit had transported Riko without any suspicion- he'd the trick work before in the past, during that case in which he had (unwittingly, at the time) crossed paths with Heiji for the first time. Given the difference in color between the two bags, however, even if the missing one was the smaller, it was no wonder that it was taken as opposed to the one left behind. Shocking pink had a way of garnering attention, as he'd quickly learned during the wait for the police. He asked people if they had seen someone of Riko's description in the hotel, and sure enough, while not everyone recalled her face, they sure as hell recalled the color of her jacket and bag. "Was it the same size as this one?" He asked her.

"Yeah. It was." Kazuha nodded. "I was the one carrying it at the time... she took it back from me when she went back to her room, however. Look, all the stuff that she was carrying in it is all over the floor in a pile." She motioned towards the aforementioned pile, a mess of various camera parts and accessories.

"Then, they probably stuffed Yukishiro-san into the bag after they knocked her out." Conan told them. "Most likely to avoid anyone thinking anything strange. Because if someone tried to take an unconscious women away from the lodge, it'd look weird, right? Even though they went out the window here, this room's located so that nobody would really see it." He told them. "Probably, they didn't expect Yukishiro-san to come back to her room before lunch... it kind of sounds like they knew what her expected plans were!"

* * *

This... wasn't looking very good.

The snow storm that up until that point, had just been lightly threatening to show up had suddenly appeared in full force, complete with howling winds and heavy, thick snow. Heiji had gotten as far as the forest at the edge of the ski slopes before it had hit, and he feared that it wouldn't be long before the snow covered up the kidnapper's tracks completely at this rate. For that, matter, it was quickly making hazardous going, the snowfall making it harder and harder to see in front of him. Pulling down the goggles that he had used for skiing, he knew that he would most likely have to find some sort of shelter to take during the storm, a place to wait it out. Wandering aimlessly through the forest was just about the last thing that he needed to do.

Grimacing, his eyes scanned the area, looking for somewhere, anywhere, that he could took shelter. The thought of turning around and heading back to the lodge crossed his mind, but he was fairly far away from it by now. Turning back might only present him with more chances of becoming lost, especially in this weather, which was quickly growing worse and worse. No doubt Kazuha was worried sick about him by now, and he hoped that Kudo and the others were doing alright back at the lodge by themselves.

Then, out of the corner of his eyes, he spotted what appeared to be a small cave. Letting out a sigh of relief, he trudged towards it, letting out a deep breath once he was in the safety of the cave. It appeared deserted- no sign of bears or any other dangerous animals slumbering away inside of it. It would probably be safe to stay here for the time being. Pulling up his goggles and heading a bit further back into the cave, he pulled out his cell phone, rolling his eyes as it helpfully informed him that it was out of range. It had been around an hour and a half since he had set out from the lodge- time had flown by a bit quicker than he expected to out here. Kazuha would probably have his hide when he came back.

Well, if there was one thing he had determined about the culprit, it was that they probably knew this area rather well. After all, it didn't make any sense for someone to simply strike out into the forest without some sense of where they were going. Heiji had taken care to mark the path he had taken to get here in the trees, a small notch indicating direction carved courtesy of his room key. Hopefully it would still work after all of that- he didn't imagine that the lodge would be pleased to hear that one of their keys had become damaged beyond use in such a fashion.

"Mm?" Heiji paused, frowning a little as he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Pulling out a flashlight that he had the wisdom to retrieve before he left the lodge, he flicked it on and shined it on the object in question. Attached to a sharp part of rock that jutted out a bit, was a piece of fabric, a shocking pink color that stood out in the dismal cave they were in. A look of recognition crossed Heiji's face, as he recalled that Kazuha had noted the bright pink color of Riko's jacket. Using his handkerchief, he carefully removed it from the jutted piece of rock, tucking it neatly away. No doubt the kidnapper had brought Riko this way. Grinning a bit to himself, he raised his flashlight, looking deeper into the cave.

Heading further in, he carefully made his way through it, shining the flashlight in front of him as he went. The cave turned out to be fairly deep after all, dipping somewhat as he went on. He was probably getting a bit further underground, he noted. Heading further in, he came to a stop, clicking his tongue in frustration as he came into contact with his first obstacle. From this point, the cave split off into two distinct tunnels. Shining his flashlight in both of them, and seeing that they both seemed to continue on, he paused.

"Naturally." He frowned, crossing his arms in front of him, eyes narrowing in thought. Obviously, the kidnapper would have only gone down one path. He had a feeling that this cave must have lead _somewhere_, seeing as he hadn't yet found Riko deposited anywhere. He supposed the best thing he could do at the moment was to check out the both of them. Heading into the one on the left at first, he shined his flashlight around, looking for anymore helpful hints of either Riko or the culprit's presence, but didn't quickly find anything helpful. Heaving a sigh, he debated heading back for a moment to check the mouth of the tunnel to the right when something caught his eye.

Turning his flashlight on it, he frowned, approaching the object located on the ground, and crouched down in front of it. "That's strange." Heiji remarked, arching an eyebrow. On the ground below him was a single iron cross, which seemed to be rooted to the floor. Whatever it was, it probably wasn't related to the case in question- it looked like it had been here for some time, after all. Still, it caught his curiosity, and he found himself reaching out and giving it a small tug, trying to see if he could pick it up.

The iron cross moved somewhat, pulling up from the ground a bit, but seeming to catch on something that was preventing it from moving further. There was a great clatter following that, and surprised by it, Heiji jumped up, looking around. The sound continued, and the sound of what seemed to be moving gears appeared. Before Heiji could think that he had probably made a bad choice, he found the floor giving away underneath his feet, a half muttered curse being cut short as he quickly dropped downwards.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the lodge, Kazuha was starting to get worried. Checking her watch with a deep frown, she gazed out over the worsening storm. Although she was safely inside, she could still see the wind howling. Everyone had come inside from the slopes, taking shelter inside of it. Even the search for the missing Riko had temporarily been called off until it blew over, the police determining that it was too dangerous at the moment to continue. And yet, despite that, Heiji hadn't come back yet.

Heiji was smart, Kazuha knew that, and she didn't need anyone to tell her that. But he had also been gone for three hours now, without so much as a word. Had he simply gotten caught up in the storm and had taken shelter somewhere until the storm blew over? Or had the kidnapper crossed paths with him, realizing he was being followed? Or perhaps, being unfamiliar with the area, he had gotten himself lost in the snow.

Whatever the case, it was enough to make Kazuha pace, back and forth, back and forth. She was making Ran nervous just by watching her.

"I'm sure Hattori-kun is fine." Ran tried to assure her. They had returned to their rooms for the moment, although Conan and Ai had lingered by the crime scene. "He's probably just taken shelter somewhere during the storm."

"But it's been three hours now!" Kazuha said, pausing in her pacing to turn to Ran, running a hand through her hair. She knew Heiji was smart- likewise, she also knew that he had a knack for running into trouble. "What if he's gotten caught up in something? Met the kidnapper?" She grimaced. "He might have met a bear."

"Wouldn't those be sleeping right now?" Sonoko pointed out. She didn't know Kazuha half as well as Ran did, but it didn't take a genius or a detective to figure out how worried she was.

"Sonoko's right, Kazuha-chan." Ran assured her friend again, standing up and closing the distance between them, firmly clasping her friend's shoulders. "I'm sure he'll be back soon." She told her with a forced smile. The last thing she wanted Kazuha to do was make herself go crazy from worry. She _knew _that feeling, and it wasn't exactly a pleasant one. She had felt that way when Shinichi had first disappeared, up until he had finally given her a call. Even know, sometimes let her worries get the best of her- even though he was contacting her more frequently these days, the distinct lack of his actual physical presence didn't do much to reassure her. Especially since he seemed completely unwilling to discuss this 'case' he was on at all with her.

Kazuha took in and let out a deep breath. "That's right. I'm sure you're right, Ran-chan." She said, forcing herself to smile. "He'll come back here any minute, acting like nothing's wrong at all."

* * *

Heiji groaned a little, eyes flickering open. For a moment, he couldn't recall where he was or how he had gotten there, and found himself staring up at an unfamiliar ceiling, a large hole in the rock far above him. Putting a hand on his head, he tried to steady himself and recollect his thoughts, mentally recounting exactly what had happened since this morning.

"That's right, the case..." He groaned, forcing himself to stand up, head still swimming. Steadying himself against the rock wall behind him, he glanced back up again, quickly determining that he was not going to be able to get back out the way he had come in- the opening in the ceiling which he had fallen through was too high up, and it didn't appear that there were many footholds in the smooth rock wall behind him. Well, if he got himself in here, hopefully there was another way out, he thought to himself, finally turning around to asses the room that he was in.

And stopped short.

To say that it appeared to be something out of a horror movie was fairly accurate. What lay in front of him was a wide chamber, huge steel doors emblazoned with a large cross on each closing off a possible exit on the other end. He had apparently landed in at the tail end of the said chamber, probably a secret entrance of some kind. Noting that he could see in the aforementioned chamber, he took note of the amount of massive, lit candelabras scattered about, wondering exactly how the flames were still burning, as it looked like whatever this place was, it hadn't been touched in a long time. From the ceiling, likewise, another one hung, one that didn't look like it would be out of place in an art museum.

And in the dead center of the chamber, lay what could only be deemed as a coffin. A massive piece of iron, another cross emblazoned on the center of it, it was wrapped by chains, almost as if it was locking whatever was inside of it inside, keeping it from escaping. His feet finally steady, his head clearing up somewhat, Heiji approached it. Briefly, he recalled the rumors he'd heard from around the area, about a vampire from hundreds years ago, but he quickly brushed it off. The supernatural didn't exist- things like vampires were nothing more than silly little stories to scare people. There had to be some other explanation for this strange room.

Placing his hands over the coffin, Heiji shivered, finding it ice cold to the touch. He suddenly got a strong feeling that he shouldn't _be _here, that this was not a place for people to go. Shaking it off, he began to examine the chains the bound the coffin, taking one lightly in his hand. Whatever strange properties kept the flames on the candelabras burning apparently didn't apply to these chains- it was clear that they were starting to rust with time. Turning over one of the locks in his hand, he let out a startled yelp when it gave way in his hand, snapping free from it's chains. They fell to the ground with a sudden clatter, and Heiji found himself quickly glancing about, wondering if anyone heard that, his expression briefly mimicking a child who had gotten caught doing something he shouldn't have been.

Looking a bit awkwardly at the broken lock in his hands, he heaved a sigh, rubbing his head. He really didn't have the time to be messing around with this, did he? He needed to find a way to get out of this chamber. Glancing towards the massive doors on the other end, he frowned, wondering if he would be able to move the things by himself. But seeing as there weren't any other apparent exits, he figured that it was worth giving it a try. Setting down the broken lock on top of the coffin, he moved towards the doors.

_Thump._

Heiji's face blanched a little at the sudden noise, eyes darting about for the source. That... didn't exactly sound good.

_Thump._

There it was again. Heiji turned, glancing at the coffin behind him. The lock that he had placed on top of the coffin had fallen off. Wary now, the hair on the back of his neck prickling up, he watched as another loud thump came from the inside of the coffin, before it finally gave way, the rest of the rusted chains breaking apart. The lid of the coffin suddenly burst in the air as if it had been thrown with great force, landing to one side of the coffin with a great clash.

Almost frozen on the spot, Heiji could hear his own heart hammering in his chest. Oi, oi, this wasn't right. There was no such thing as vampires- they were just a bunch of silly myths. There was no way this was...

And yet, there it was.

It took immediate notice of Heiji, black eyes drawn towards him. They held his gaze, completely unreadable, yet sucked him in. It was as if some strange power bound him there, even there every muscle in his body was screaming at him to get away- and Hattori Heiji was no coward. He could _more _than handle himself in a fight, especially if he were given access to a sword. But his brain was telling him right here, and right now, that this was not something that he could deal with, and the only chance he had to save his own skin was to run away, and run away fast.

"A human." The creature's voice observed. It was smooth, and flowed out of his mouth with great grace. He was obviously well groomed and of foreign descent, with pale skin and deep red hair to match, which was worn long, pulled into a thick braid. He looked to be a thing out time, however, his dress not being out of place for an English nobleman from some time in the distant past, but clearly out of place here and now. He appeared to be anywhere between twenty to twenty five years old, and had features many would deem handsome. That is, save for the eyes. His black eyes, pure black, remained fixed on Heiji, not shifting his gaze as he gracefully stepped out of the coffin.

"How perfect." The creature's lips pulled into a thin smile, revealing fangs. "I was feeling somewhat peckish."

As the creature, the _vampire_, Heiji forced himself to admit, faced with fairly hard proof, drew closer, Heiji couldn't help but think that maybe it would have just been a better idea to stay at home today.

* * *

_"Heiji!"_

Kazuha's cry was soon followed by the Osakan girl jolting awake in her bed, followed by vague groans from her companions as they too, slowly woke up, dragged out of sleep by her sudden shout. With the storm not letting up, and the case currently at a dead end for the moment, they had all decided that it would be a good idea to get a few hours or so of shut eye. They had a hard convincing Kazuha to get to sleep, but apparently worrying for Heiji had tired her out more than she had thought, so she'd pretty much conked out the second her head hit the pillow.

At the moment though, she was covered in cold sweat, her hands clutching the bed sheets tightly, heart pounding in her chest. As her friends stirred, turning on the lights, and a sleepy Conan came over from the next room, using the door that linked the two.

"What's wrong...?" He said wearily, rubbing his eyes, his glasses for the moment forgotten on his night stand.

"Seems like Kazuha-chan had a nightmare." Ran said, slipping out of her covers and sitting next to Kazuha on her bed, who looked up, giving her a small smile that said she was grateful. "Are you alright, Kazuha-chan?"

"Yeah." She said, running a hand through her hair, which was drenched with sweat. "I just had a nightmare." She glanced over at Ran. "Any word on Heiji, yet?" She asked, looking both hopeful and pleading.

As if on cue, the door to their room opened just then. Ai stepped in, yawning a little bit. Before heading off to bed, they had agreed to stay up in shifts, waiting in the lobby for any news of Riko or Heiji. In spite of Ran's protests, both Conan and Ai had volunteered to do so, and she'd given in eventually when they assured her that they would be safe with all of these police officers around. They were just as trapped by the howling storm outside as anyone else in the lodge, for the moment.

"Ai-chan." Ran turned towards her. "Is there any word?"

"No, not at all." Ai told them, shaking her head. "I spoke with one of the officers, though. They say the storm should let off in early morning, and they plan to send another search party out once it's safe to go." She didn't say it out loud, but it was heavily implied that the search party would now be adding one Osakan Detective to it's list of people that needed to be found. "Other than that, for the moment, their hands are tied."

"It's my fault..." Kazuha began, looking down at her sheets, clenching her fists. "I should stopped him! If I didn't, he would be right here now..."

"It's not your fault, Kazuha-chan." Ran reassured her. "I'm sure Hattori-kun is fine. A nightmare is just a nightmare." There was something in her expression that said as much as she was trying to reassure her friend, she had her doubts, no doubt coming from her own similar experience with Shinichi. She didn't voice these concerns, however, wanting Kazuha to remain optimistic.

Conan caught the look sure enough, even if Kazuha didn't. He frowned, his mouth set in a thin line, a decidedly unchildlike expression. He was also deeply worried about Heiji, recalling the time that he had been kidnapped alongside Kazuha. He knew full well that Heiji had a knack for getting himself into trouble- one that he also, admittedly shared. As much as Ran had told him to go to sleep before she went back into her own room, Conan hadn't slept a wink. He was turning thoughts in his head, about the case, and about Heiji. He was sure that the culprit must have either been a hotel employee, or someone who was a regular in this area. What puzzled him were the contents of the phone call that had led Riko to return to her room- if it weren't for the fact that she had stowed away the necklace and the note in Kazuha's jacket, he would have brushed it off to coincidence. But clearly, there was something more at work here.

"That's right, maybe I'm just over thinking things." Kazuha said with a weak smile, seeming like she was trying to reassure herself more than anyone else. "I don't think I can get back to sleep though, after that dream... Sonoko-chan, would it be alright if I took over your shift?" She asked.

"Alright." Sonoko said, yawning a little. "Don't stay down there all night waiting up yourself. though." She told her.

"I won't." Kazuha promised, but it was obvious that was a lie. Putting on a thin jacket over her pajamas and tugging on some boots, she headed out of the room and down the stairs. She found herself clutching onto the good luck charm she had tucked away in her jacket before she left the room, trying reassure herself that Heiji would in fact, be alright.

This wasn't at all how she hoped this trip would go.

* * *

It took a few moments before he realized that he wasn't dead.

Groggily blinking awake, Heiji pulled himself up, finding his head pounding once more, this time worse than before. Struggling to clear his head for what must have been the second time today and gather his wits about him, he attempted to assess the situation. The last thing he remembered had been...

Oh, that's right.

Paling a little, he looked around the room in front of him. It was empty, empty, and pitch black, the flames on the candelabras having finally burned out. He could have almost dismissed the events that had occurred since he had arrived here if not for three facts.

One, the coffin was still open.

Two, the massive steel doors behind him were now also open as well.

Three, he could _see _all of this.

Without any light source to speak of, Heiji found himself looking about the pitch black room as if it was as bright as day. He hadn't even noticed the lights had gone for a second, until he saw that the flames indeed had been doused. Briefly, he felt his heart do a little flip flop, as he absently reached up to his neck, and let out a small sigh of relief when he found nothing was there. The logical part of him, the part firmly rooted in science, was quickly denying what he had just experienced earlier, brushing it off on a trick of the mind, a dream, an illusion of some sorts. The coffin and the doors had been open from the start, he tried to convince himself. Though he was doing a good job with that, it didn't seem like he was doing such a good job at coming up with a reason as to why he was seeing perfectly in the dark.

Another part of him, one that he really didn't want to listen to, wanted to tell him that it had all really happened, and the fact that he was able to think about this at all at the moment wasn't actually a good sign. But no- there was no way such a thing was possible, right? Vampires _couldn't_ be real- Heiji just found his own thoughts getting carried away by the rumors and the blow he had taken to the head earlier when falling down the hole. Taking in and letting out a deep breath, he tried to get himself to focus.

Whatever the case, he wouldn't be getting anywhere sitting on his butt here. Reaching into his jacket pocket for his cell phone to check the time, Heiji grimaced, realizing that it had broken. Swearing underneath his breath, he shoved it back into his jacket, attempting to recollect his thoughts once more.

The case.

The trail.

The chamber.

No doubt Kazuha was worried by now- not to mention everyone else back at the lodge. Groaning, he decided that he should probably find his way out of wherever it he was before coming to any conclusions, be they fantastic or mundane. Whatever had happened, what he needed to focus on most were the case- the case, and getting back to the lodge, especially since he had no idea how much time had passed by now. Behind him, the opened doors loomed, and though he could still see perfectly well, he found himself reaching for his flashlight, still unbroken by the fall, thankfully. It was that part of him that wanted to deny everything that caused him to reach for it. Turning it on, he winced a little as his eyes readjusted to the sudden light source, before he continued on.

To his surprise, the doors let out into what appeared to be the ruins of a house. Or the basement of one, rather. Even from there, he could tell that this place used to be grand once. Not so much anymore, the house having fallen into ruins. If the chamber had looked like a good setting for a horror movie, then this house would have made an even better one, he noted. Not wanting to waste any time, Heiji found the stairs, and made his way up them. They creaked and groaned underneath his weight, but didn't give out, thankfully. They sure were long, though. Arriving at what must have been a kitchen, he made his way out of there and into what would have been a grand front hall.

"Didn't know there was a place like this around here." He remarked, glancing about the room. "Pretty old from the looks of things." He observed, shining his flashlight about. At any other occasion, he would have been tempted to explore the place, but he had other things on his mind at the moment- too many things, really. Finding the entrance to the place ajar, he let out a deep sigh of relief, taking in a deep breath of fresh air that flowed in from it. He was just about to turn and leave, when the faintest of noises met his ears. It sounded like something had fallen over.

Recalling the kidnapped Riko, Heiji frowned, and after a moment's deliberation, decided to investigate. After all, if that chamber's doors had lead here, then it wasn't entirely implausible that the cave he had been in led to the area around this old house. Determining that the sound had come from upstairs (and slightly bothered that he had been able to _hear _such a faint sound from that much of a distance- but he forced himself to put aside that thought for the moment), he located the stairs, and moved carefully up them.

After peering through the rooms, Heiji finally found what he had set out to find much earlier. She was just as Kazuha had described her- curly black hair and a shocking pink jacket that made one wonder if she wasn't colorblind. At the moment, she was tied to a chair, a gag affixed to her mouth, hands and feet bound. And although she was unconscious, and didn't look good- she appeared to be alive, for the moment. Letting out a sigh of relief, Heiji tucked away his flashlight for the moment, getting to work at freeing her. Whoever it was that had brought her here had left her there, judging from the looks of things, unable to get any of the answers they wanted, or finding the prized necklace on her person. Briefly, his mind's eye flickered to Kazuha, a knot of worry tying up in his stomach as he recalled that she was the one who had been given the canister with the necklace in it.

The sound Heiji had heard was the sound of the chair legs giving way, causing her to fall over on the floor. She'd taken another blow to the head from that, no doubt, and this one caused her to bleed, red liquid trickling down from her forehead onto the wooden floor. Another strange feeling came about as he looked at this, but again, forced himself to put such thoughts aside. Riko was alive for the moment- but if he didn't get her back to the lodge quickly, then she might not be for much longer. A brief glance at her fingers, he noted that she was starting to show signs of frostbite.

It was a bit easier than he thought it would be, the knots weren't tied very well. Carefully, he hoisted the unconscious woman on his back, careful to support her. She felt light, very light to him. He quickly took notice of the fact that she didn't seem to be breathing well- he had to get her back to the lodge, and fast. She probably needed medical treatment as soon as possible if she was going to make it.

* * *

"Kazuha-chan! Kazuha-chan!" Ran's cry from below broke Kazuha momentarily out of her thoughts, which had been turning in circles since yesterday. She hadn't gotten any sleep since then, and her thoughts were gnawing at her more and more as time rolled on. It was nearing evening again, and although the search party had gone out early in the morning, it had turned up nothing.

"Ran-chan?" Kazuha blinked, only having to take a good look at her eyes to guess at the news she had to bring.

After catching her breath a little, having darted here from the lobby, Ran placed her hands on Kazuha's shoulders. "They found Hattori-kun!" She told her, a broad smile on her face. "And he's got Yukishiro-san with him!"


	3. Some Things Are Better Left Unknown

Author's Note: And the next chapter! I had sort of planned to release this yesterday... and then my cat was attacked by a dog. To be fair, it was entirely his fault- he decided it would be a _really good _idea to go up to the toughest dog in the neighborhood and swat him on the nose. Aside from a broken front leg, he's fine, and should recover on his own without surgery, so.

Detective Conan and associated characters are not mine, but Mitsuta, Riko, and Rie all are. Please read and review, if you could be so kind! I'm still pretty worried I'm getting everyone horribly out of character.

* * *

Blood and Snow

Chapter Three: Some Things are Better Left Unknown

"Really, Ran-chan?" Kazuha looked up at her friend, eyes shimmering with hope, yet at the same time, some part of her wondered if this a dream. Considering that it had been nearly a full two days since there was any news of Heiji, she had starting to become worried that she might never see him again. "They've really found him?" She asked, getting up from the chair she was sitting in. "Is he alright? And what about Yukishiro-san?" She asked, the latter almost as an afterthought, so focused she was on Heiji.

"Hattori-kun seems fine, at least." Ran reassured her. "He looks a little pale, and apparently hit his head really hard... but he seems perfectly alright." Which, now that Ran thought about it, was a little strange. She hadn't really heard many details of what had happened since Heiji had left the hotel since she had almost promptly ran up to tell Kazuha, but surely after spending so much time out in the cold, at least something should be a bit wrong with Heiji. She didn't want to worry Kazuha any though, so she put it out of her mind for the time being. "Yukishiro-san doesn't look so good though. They're calling in a helicopter to have her be airlifted to the nearest hospital, but she's alive for the moment."

"I see." Kazuha said, letting out a deep sigh, visibly relived. It was as if all the tension and worry that had been knotting itself up inside of her body had been released all at once. "So he's alright..." She trailed off a little, taking in and letting out a deep breath, before she turned to Ran, smiling at her. "Well, what are we still here for? Let's go see him." She said, taking Ran's hand and all but pulling the girl behind her as she headed for the lobby where everyone was sure to be.

Sure enough, there was a crowd gathered in the lobby, despite it being later in the evening. The police were there, Yamamura looking as if he had been dragged out of sleep and still not entirely aware of his surroundings. Hearing the commotion from the girl's room, Conan had left, following behind Kazuha and Ran. As much as he had been trying to stay awake to wait for news of his friend, his little kid's constitution had proved that difficult. Riko had been spread out on one of the couches in the lobby, where the lodge doctor had been roused to perform some first aid on her, treating her head wound, and trying to get her body temperature up while they waited for the helicopter to arrive to transport her to the hospital. She hadn't regained consciousness, but she was looking somewhat better now that she was indoors and out from the cold.

Heiji was for the moment, collapsed in a nearby chair, watching the treatment that was ongoing. Ran was right, he did look as if he was somewhat pale, though it was hard to tell with his dark skin. There was some old blood crusted on the back of his head, presumably from where he had hit it. The wound itself however, looked as if it had been healed up. Seeing as he was the better of the two, and Riko's needs were more dire, the doctor had apparently not had time to examine him yet. But besides the two aforementioned things- he really did look like was perfectly fine.

"Heiji!" Kazuha practically raced down the stairs as soon as she caught sight of him, releasing her death grip on Ran's wrist and jumping down the last couple of steps in her hurry to see her childhood friend. "You're alright!" She called out, and without really thinking about her surroundings at all, she practically flung herself on him, wrapping her arms around him in a tight embrace. "I was so worried, idiot!"

"K-Kazuha!" Heiji stumbled over his old friend's name, face turning bright red, a look which was mirrored on Ran's face. Sonoko, who had joined them just in time to see Kazuha all but pounce on Heiji had a sly look on her face, and Conan briefly looked as if he was contemplating whether this would cause Heiji to perhaps start to realize Kazuha actually had feelings for him- a theory which he had quickly dismissed, based on past experience. "Ah, sorry for worrying you. I'm back." He said, rather sheepishly as Kazuha, suddenly realizing exactly what she was doing and where she was, pulled back, her face completely red.

Coughing a little as if to cover up her embarrassment, Kazuha shot a silencing look over towards Sonoko. "Idiot!" She repeated again, glaring down at Heiji. "I thought that something horrible had happened to you!" She huffed. "Don't always be running off like that! I thought that I was going to have to go back to your father and tell him you were out lost in the snow!"

"Sorry, sorry." Heiji apologized again, standing up. "I hit my head and was kind of out of it for awhile." He told her, choosing not to mention anything about the mysterious chamber, the... thing that had been in it, and a growing inkling he had that there might have been something wrong with him. "I'm really sorry for worrying you, Kazuha, I didn't mean to. I'll make it up to you, I promise." He said, putting his hands together in a form of apology.

Kazuha huffed a little, crossing her arms in front of her chest, looking away from him a bit. "Well, I'll accept your apology if you..." she trailed off a little bit, glancing at the floor. "...take me on a date." She said, almost mumbling the last part, voice nearly inaudible.

Heiji sure heard her though, his blush deepening. "A date?" He asked aloud, almost as if he thought his ears were deceiving him. Was Kazuha really asking him that? Did she mean it seriously? No, there was no way that could be. This was _Kazuha _he was talking about after all, his childhood friend. When she said 'date' she didn't mean _that _kind of date, but rather a date between two friends. "Ah, alright, I'll take ya on a date when we get all of this stuff done with." He promised her.

Heiji's misconception as plain as day on his face, Kazuha's shoulders slumped somewhat. It was just history repeating itself again. Sometimes she marveled at how someone as smart as Heiji could be so... amazingly _dense _at times about certain things. Picking up her spirit again, she realized that she would have more time to try and get him to realize her feelings for him on the actual date in question- and also that maybe right now really wasn't the right time for this sort of thing. "That's right!" Kazuha said after a moment's pause. "And it better be a good one too! None of this cheap stuff, okay?"

"Okay, okay." Heiji assured her. "I promise."

A moment later, Heiji seemed to turn his head a bit, as if he was hearing something. Curious as to what it was, and hearing nothing himself, Conan turned his head in the direction that Heiji was facing. Moments later, he heard it too, the sound of a helicopter coming. It touched down outside in front of the lodge, and without wasting a moment, the medical team onboard rushed into the lodge. After exchanging a few brief words with the lodge doctor, they carefully loaded Riko on the gurney and promised to rely news about her when they had it to the detective in charge of the case. Without another word, they rushed her outside, and the helicopter took off once more, heading off towards the nearest hospital.

"Do you think she'll be alright?" Ran asked, approaching Heiji and Kazuha with a worried look on her face.

"It's hard to tell." Heiji admitted. He wasn't a doctor- but one didn't had to be to be able to tell that Riko had been in bad shape. A little longer left out there, and she might have already been dead when he found her. If the chair hadn't broken when it did, he might have never realized she was in that old house. Some would appoint it to fate at work, Heiji just viewed it as half getting lucky and half good timing.

"By the way, Heiji, what about you?" Kazuha asked, concern filtering into her expression. Seeing Heiji seemingly safe and sound had made her relax immensely, but she was now reminded that Heiji had also been missing out in the snow storm for nearly two days as well. "You should let the doctor take a look at you. You felt pretty cold when I touched you earlier." She said, her cheeks tinting pink as she reminded herself of her sudden embrace of her old friend.

"Ah, no." Heiji said, seeming to pale a little. "Don't worry about me. I'm fine, really." He told them, glancing away a bit, unable to face any of them directly in the eyes. Had he really been that cold? Normally, he wouldn't have much of a reason to avoid an examination- it would have probably been a good idea, really, if not for what had happened in that chamber- or what he thought had happened, anyways, his logical side still trying to deny what he had seen there for the moment, despite evidence mounting to suggest that something had indeed happened there. The last thing he wanted was some doctor pocking and prodding all over him when there might possibly be something weird going on with him. The idea of turning up to be a lab rat if there was indeed something strange wasn't exactly appealing to him, to say the least.

"Son, I do recommend it." The lodge doctor interjected. "The fact that you're walking and talking is reassuring, but it doesn't change the fact that you've been out in some very unfavorable weather for a long duration of time. There very well might be something wrong that you just can't see yet."

_Yeah, like being able to see in the dark and apparently super hearing. _Heiji thought to himself. "No, really, doc. I'm _fine_. I found some good shelter out of the snow and wind." He insisted. "Trust me, doc."

"Well, if you're certain." The doctor looked skeptical, arching an eyebrow. "Come to me the moment you feel anything wrong." He told him.

"Don't worry, I will." Heiji promised him, lying through his teeth. He knew full well that he should probably be suffering from some effects of exposure- it had still be freezing in that chamber, after all, all the more so once the doors had opened. Pausing in his thoughts for a moment, he wondered where that creature- if there had indeed been a creature, had gone. He hadn't run into it on his way out with Riko, and hadn't found any other traces of it. He only hoped that it had gone in the direction opposite of the lodge.

"You sure about that, Heiji?" Kazuha looked at her old friend, frowning a little. She could tell that he was keeping something to himself, but trusted him not to be a complete idiot about his body. Then again, she'd also seen himself take reckless action while wounded before, the case in Kyoto coming to mind.

"Yeah, don't worry about it, Kazuha." He reassured her, putting a hand on her shoulder and giving it a small squeeze. "Nothin's wrong with me that a good bit of sleep can't fix." He told her, before glancing over at Conan. "Oi, K-Conan-kun." He corrected himself again. "Ya wanna catch me up to speed on what's goin' on with the case?" He asked his shrunken friend, heading over towards him.

"Sure, Heiji-niichan! We can talk about it in our room!" Conan said, smiling brightly up at him. Like Kazuha, he also had a feeling that something was up with Heiji, that there was something that he wasn't telling them. If he wasn't going to talk about it in front of the girls, then he would be at least sure to try and get him to talk in the privacy of their room. After all, Heiji knew his secrets- if he really was keeping one, Conan hoped that he would be inclined to share it with him.

_Kudo's got that look again. _Heiji noted. It was _that _look, the one that was usually turned on the culprits of the various cases they had solved together. It was strange to have it turned on him for once, though he wasn't exactly surprised that Kudo was able to tell that something was fishy. "Alright! Then, Neechan, Kazuha." He nodded to them, before following Conan up the stairs to the room they shared together. He couldn't help but feel that he was going into some kind of interrogation.

Closing the door behind them, they headed to their respective beds and sat down. Conan glanced over at Heiji, arching an eyebrow. "Hattori. What exactly aren't you telling us?"

_Ahahaha, as expected. _Heiji made a small face, clearly not wanting to be on this topic. He kind of doubted that even if he talked about what he thought he had seen with Kudo, he wouldn't believe him. He knew full well that Kudo was a skeptic through and through, and he didn't exactly want his friend to think that he had gone crazy. Really, Heiji was sort of feeling that he had gone crazy himself. It was easier to think that way at least, than to consider that everything he though he had known about the world wasn't the truth- or not the whole truth, at any rate. "Can we maybe talk about that later? It's kind of a long story and we _do _sort of have more important matters at hand- like the case. Where have ya gotten on that anyways?" He asked, quickly changing the topic.

Conan arched an eyebrow, not missing the fact that Heiji was clearly dodging the issue, but heaved a sigh, giving in for the moment. Oh, he'd have more questions later, but Heiji did have a point. The case took first priority, and it was best to get it out of the way before Yamamura did something to muck up the investigations. He almost had, while Heiji was away, having learned about the rumors of there once having been a vampire in this area. He'd quickly tried to pull the police force out, claiming that it was 'out of their jurisdiction' to deal with vampires. Luckily, Conan had been able to quickly convince him that there was no way a vampire could have been the culprit. After all, they weren't even real. He was sort of irritated that Yamamura had even brought it up, given Ran's reaction to being reminded of the legend. For someone who could more than handle her own against many a human criminal, she sure got freaked out when it came to anything vaguely supernatural.

"I have a pretty good idea, actually." Conan told him. "I didn't spend all my time while you were missing staring at my feet after all."

"Aw, you weren't so caught up in concern about me that ya couldn't think straight?" Heiji asked, displaying an expression of mock hurt, which quickly faded into one of his characteristic grins. Conan merely rolled his eyes, before continuing on.

"We got a hold of Yukishiro-san's phone logs once the storm cleared up. Turns out the person who called her just before she returned to her room was her assistant, one Nagai Masaru." Conan explained. "Turns out that during the time we were snowed out, he had turned himself into the police. He had called Yukishiro-san with a warning that the person behind the break in was at the lodge."

"Turned himself into the police?" Heiji asked, quirking an eyebrow. "Then, was he helping the culprit?"

"Yes. Not exactly willingly, as it turns out." Conan continued. "It seems that Nagai-san had some drug problems, and the culprit used these to blackmail him into assisting them. He confessed that he was the one who had put the threatening notes into Yukishiro-san's mailbox."

"Then, why the sudden change of heart?" Heiji inquired.

"According to what he had told the police, Yukishiro-san was pretty important to him. When the culprit first confronted him about his drug problem, he was more worried about getting turned into the police for it. He thought it would stop at the notes and that the person in question would get tired of it pretty quickly. Apparently, he knew Yukishiro-san well enough to know that she wouldn't relent to such tactics." Leaning back on the bed a little, trying to blink a bit of stray sleep out of his eyes, Conan continued. "He hadn't heard about the break in until a short time ago though. That increased his worries for Yukishiro-san's safety, but not enough at the time to prevent him from giving into the culprit's demands to suggest that Yukishiro-san to have a photography session out here."

"Why was this Yukishiro so important to Nagai-san, anyways?" Heiji asked, considering the information that he'd been given.

"Hired him when nobody else would. Nagai-san had a history of violence from his high school years, though he's apparently mellowed out since then. It eventually lead to his expulsion. He viewed Yukishiro-san as someone who saved him, I guess." Conan told him. "That was what won out in the end. He knew that Yukishiro-san was mentally pretty tough... but pretty physically weak. He was afraid that something bad would happen to her and called her to tell her to leave right away."

"Then, it was just bad timing that she encountered the culprit in her room?" Heiji asked.

"So it would seem. Before meeting Kazuha, it seemed like she had planned to be out most of the morning and afternoon taking photos since she didn't want to drag all of her equipment out with her a second time after coming back from lunch. As evidence, looking through her second bag showed that she had prepared food to bring with her." Conan explained. "Of course, her plans changed when she met Kazuha, but the culprit didn't know that and assumed that she would be out all afternoon."

"So they panicked when Yukishiro-san came back to the room while they were still in it?" Heiji asked, nodding his head. He about understood the situation now. "'Fraid she saw their face, so they wanted her out of the way. Hoped nobody'd find her 'afore she turned to a corpsesicle." He joked morbidly.

"The break in itself was well planned- they didn't leave any traces of their presence aside from the mess. I suspect the culprit didn't think Yukishiro-san would go around wearing something that valuable. Nagai-san said that he deliberately told the culprit that she didn't in an effort to mislead them." Conan told Heiji.

"So, I suppose you have some kind of idea as to who the culprit is, then?" Heiji asked, grinning at his shrunken friend.

"They didn't have any direct contact with Nagai-san, and they disguised their voice, but from what he says, he thought the culprit was a woman." Conan told him. "Factor into that someone who is a regular in this area, is strong enough to carry a fully grown woman without obvious struggle, and someone who is in possession of a gray duffel bag like the one stolen from Yukishiro-san's room lowers the suspect pool quite a bit. We got two suspects from that." He said, using his fingers to indicate the number.

"Hino Rie, age twenty seven, personal trainer by profession and Tsumura Kureha, age twenty two, a skiing coach who works here." Conan told him. "My bet is on Hino-san." Conan told him. "Both women have previously met Yukishiro-san, and neither have alibis for the times the crime was committed, but Hino-san is the more suspicious. Of the pair of them, she's the only one who has a motive for the crime. It seems her father, who had been out of her life since high school, suddenly popped up only to dump a huge debt on her. Loan sharks have been all but jumping down her throat for the past five our so months, it seems."

"Yukishiro-san agreed two years ago to temporarily loan her necklace to an art museum that had an exhibit on famous jewelry makers." Conan continued. "They reunited the pieces that belonged to the great-great grandmother there. We had to do a bit of digging to find it, but there's record of Hino-san buying tickets to the exhibit. That's probably where she found out the value of the necklace in question. When she learned that it was in Yukishiro-san's possession, who she met once a month ago while she took over for someone in the sports department of the magazine shoots for, she probably hatched up the scheme to try and get it in her hands to pay off the loan sharks with. She was apparently starting to get off pretty bad because of the pressure." He said, tapping his head briefly to indicate that he meant in the head.

"So desperation lead her to committin' a crime, huh?" Heiji nodded. "True enough, sounds more than plausible. "Strong in the body but not in the brain, I guess." He observed. "Then, why did Yukishiro-san pass on the necklace to Kazuha?"

"She considered the possibility that she might run into the culprit between collecting her stuff and leaving the hotel, and wanted to leave it somewhere safe. Apparently she trusted Kazuha." Conan theorized. "She probably planned on collecting it from her if nothing happened. Most likely she snuck it into her pocket in case the culprit was watching her. She didn't want to make a commotion."

"Then, I guess all that's left is to tell this to that Inspector." Heiji stood up. "Surprised ya haven't done that yet, Kudo."

Conan rolled his eyes. "I was planning to if you didn't turn up by tomorrow morning." He said. "My only other option would have been to either put Yamamura or Sonoko to sleep. I wanted to try and avoid boosting Yamamura's reputation or Sonoko's ego." He said. If Heiji hadn't turned up, he probably would have gone on to use Sonoko for his deduction show. He could deal with Sonoko's ego- that was nothing knew, but the thought of him helping Yamamura's reputation made him cringe. Dealing with Kogoro's was bad enough. "While you were gone, Yamamura seemed convinced that Yukishiro-san had been kidnapped by vampires once he learned the rumor. Ridiculous."

_That _got a look from Heiji, but not exactly the one Conan had expected. He knew full well that his friend was pretty much as skeptical as he was- aside from Kazuha's good luck charms, but even those, the Osakan Detective didn't fully believe in. But for whatever reason, at the mention of vampires, Heiji looked... nervous? Conan frowned, eyes narrowing a bit in consideration. That didn't make much sense- what had happened during the time that Heiji had gone missing to the time he had shown back up that created such a stark contrast in reactions.

As if sensing this, Heiji quickly covered up his nervousness with a laugh. "That's right! How can there be a police officer who so easily believes in absurd stuff like that?" He asked.

Conan quirked an eyebrow, looking skeptical, but for the moment brushed it aside. "Then, should we get this started, Hattori?"

* * *

The two detectives had gathered everyone in the lobby, calling together the police, as well as Rie, who Heiji had Yamamura call out. Ran, Kazuha, Sonoko, and Ai had all come to watch, and others had gathered as well, after hearing rumors that the Great Detective of the West was going to give his deductions on the case. They didn't, of course, know that most of the work this time had been done by the tiny kid sitting by his side. It did bother Conan to give over a case he had solved to Heiji, but he would have rather done that than left it unsolved. And of course, it bothered Heiji that it wasn't exactly a case he had solved himself. It wasn't exactly like he couldn't have come to the same conclusion himself though if he hadn't spent over half a day knocked out in a cave. He _did_, however, have a few pieces of his own to contribute that he had consulted with Conan about.

Among the gathered guests who had come to observe, there was one who kept catching Heiji's attention. She kept looking over him mostly, with a strange look on her face as if she was evaluating something. Whenever he caught her looking, she would just smile at him and turned away. She looked normal enough, a woman in her mid-twenties, with dark brown hair worn in a bob cut, and light brown eyes. Though it bothered him, he put his thoughts of her aside, and turned to face the person called Rie Hino.

The most striking thing about her was her height. She was easily the tallest person in the room, and most have been at least over six feet, five inches tall. She had short black hair, cut off at her ears and dark brown eyes, which were currently glaring over towards Yamamura. She was towering over him, glaring down, clearly not pleased at having been summoned here. "What's this about, Inspector?" She asked in a demanding tone of voice, hands placed firmly down on her hips as she leaned down a bit so that their eyes met. "What reason do you have for calling me out here to deal with this... _farce_?" She almost spat the last word, shooting a glare over towards Heiji before turning back to Yamamura.

"Well, it just that you need to listen to this young man's words..." Yamamura stumbled over himself, sweating like a pig. It sort of made Heiji and Conan almost feel bad for the guy, and wondered exactly how someone of Rie's stature could let herself be intimidated by loan sharks. Well, it just went to show that you really couldn't judge a book by it's cover after all.

"About what?" Rie asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest and glaring back over at Heiji again. "You honestly expect me to believe that this guy is supposed to be some sort of detective? He's just a brat."

"Hey!" Kazuha protested, fists clenched in anger, not liking someone looking down on Heiji. "I'll have you know that Heiji is-"

"Ah, it's alright, Kazuha." Heiji said, cutting her off with a grin, glancing back at her. "I can just prove myself with words, can't I?" Even if they were mostly Kudo's words this time, he noted silently.

Having seen Rie now, there was something about her that made him think for sure that she was the culprit. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was something about her that gave him the feeling that she had been around Riko. A feeling of course, was not exactly proof of wrongdoing.

"Are ya frustrated that ya couldn't get out of here like ya expected?" Heiji began, meeting Rie's irritated gaze. "That ya couldn't find what you were lookin' for?" He asked, pulling the necklace in question out of his pocket. Briefly, he saw Rie flinch at the sight of it, but she quickly covered it up. "Hino Rie-san. The culprit behind both the attempted break in at Yukishiro-san's home, the break in her hotel room, an' her kidnapping is none other than you." He declared, pointing at her for emphasis.

This did cause the woman to flinch again, the briefest of expressions crossing her face before her mask fell back into place. But it was enough for Conan and Heiji, and they briefly exchanged a look, silently sharing the feeling that they had gotten her. "Don't be stupid." Rie said, rolling her eyes. "What exactly do you have to prove that? I've never even met this woman."

"Oh?" Heiji asked, both eyebrows shooting up in a look of skepticism. "She filled in for a sick coworker a month ago for a photo shoot that you were part of. Accordin' to the people there, you were pretty much talkin' to her quite a bit after you learned her name."

"Ah, was that her?" Rie asked, mask mildly slipping again. "I had forgotten. What do you expect? I only met the women once."

"Hooo, is that so?" Heiji asked again. "That's funny. Accordin' to her assistant, you were askin' her questions about this necklace," he said, tossing it lightly in his hand, "...cause ya had recalled seein' her name on the donator placard of a jewelry exhibit two years prior. An assistant who I think could identify you as the one who blackmailed him into helping you threaten Yukishiro-san."

"Bullshit." Rie spat. "So what if I asked her a couple of questions? That doesn't make me a criminal. I'm not going to take this." She said with a huff, turning on her heel and readying to head off to leave.

"Oh?" Heiji asked. "But there's proof."

Rolling her eyes, Rie turned back towards him. "Like what, exactly?"

Heiji glanced over to Yamamura, who a bit startled, produced a large plastic evidence bag that had been filled with strips of gray fabric material. Upon seeing it, Rie visibly flinched again. "I bet you were expectin' that to have been taken away already." He said. "Unfortunately for you, due to the snow storm yesterday, the company in charge of pickin' up trash here couldn't make it. The kid here," Heiji reached down to ruffle Conan's hair, much to the shrunken detective's annoyance, "...thought to have the detectives look over the trash in my absence. We found Yukishiro-san's fingerprints on the remains of the bag. Furthermore, there are remains of hot pink fabric found in the zipper itself, and a matching tear on Yukishiro-san's jacket." He said, pulling the small piece of fabric he'd found in the cave. "In their rush to shove Yukishiro-san in the bag, they got a piece of her jacket caught up in it, and forced it shut anyways. It tore off in their hurry to dump her."

"So? How does that make _me_ the culprit?" Rie asked, sounding indignant.

"We also found your fingerprints." Heiji said, shrugging his shoulders. It was a bluff, they hadn't of course, but he wanted to see if Rie would take the bait.

"That's bullshit! I wore glo-" She stopped short, an expression on her face very much like if she had just put her foot directly into her mouth.

"Oh? What was that, Hino-san?" Heiji asked, placing a hand next to his ear. "I couldn't quite hear you there- did you just say that you were in fact, the one who shredded this bag? Now I wonder why you would do a thing like that?"

At that, Rie visibly deflated, dropping her act and looking towards the ground in frustration and anger. "That's right. I was the one who kidnapped that woman." She said, clenching her fists for a moment. "I didn't have any other choice! They were coming by my house every single day, and showing up at work! I was fired a week ago because of them!"

"Is that when you decided to try breaking into her house?" Conan piped up.

"That's right, I thought if I searched her house, I could find the necklace. Nagai-san had told me that she left it locked up somewhere at home and only took it out with her when she was going on trips for safe keeping. She wasn't wearing it when I met her in person." She told them, looking at the floor. Yamamura had motioned towards his fellow officers, who were in the process of handcuffing her. "It ended up in vain though, because of that stupid dog. I'm very allergic to them."

"So you thought of calling her out to a place where you wouldn't have to deal with the dog?" Heiji asked.

"That's right. I forced that assistant into it." She confessed. "I thought that if I got my hands on it, I would be able to exchange it to them to pay off my debt." She laughed a little, sounding bitter. "It's not even my debt to begin with... I thought when my father had shown up for the first time in awhile two years ago, he was trying to make up for being a shitty father for all my childhood. Turns out I was wrong." She shook her head. "When Yukishiro-san returned to the room while I was looking for it, I panicked and knocked her out."

"And you took her to that old mansion and tied her up?" Heiji asked her. "She saw your face, so you thought you had to get rid of her."

"That's right." Rie said. "I thought if I left here there, she'd freeze. I never thought some hot blooded idiot would go running after her when there was a snow storm coming." She said, glancing over at Heiji. "I had planned to run back and cover my tracks later, but I hadn't planned on the storm getting that bad, so I just came back straight to the lodge and just let nature take it's course. I've been coming here since I was a child, so I know all sorts of secret paths and shortcuts."

With that, Rie was taken away by the police, who had a car waiting outside. Heiji heaved a sigh as he watched her go. "Still, to go to the extent of nearly taking a life because of being plagued by debt..." He frowned, before turning back to Kazuha. "Here, take this back." He said, handing the necklace carefully over to his long time friend. "Yukishiro-san was the one who placed this in your care. I think probably she would want it to stay there until she recovers."

"Are you sure, Heiji?" Kazuha asked, gingerly taking the necklace from him.

"She left it with ya in the first place, didn't she?" Heiji asked, shrugging his shoulders. "Can't say I understand the logic of placing somethin' so precious in the care of someone she just met though. Sounds to me like she's too trustin' for her own good."

Kazuha huffed a little at him, carefully putting away the necklace back in the film canister it had been first placed in. "Idiot. Isn't it obvious that I'm a good person?"

"Well, I guess." Heiji said after a moment, causing Kazuha to flush a little. "Well, I'm going to take the kid over there back to bed fer a few hours. Why don't the rest of you try to get some shut eye too? It's pretty late, after all." He advised Kazuha with a grin, before heading over to meet up with Conan.

On the way over there, he was stopped by the women before, the one who had been looking at him. Now that she was standing up, he took note of the fact that she had a small limp in her left leg. Heiji had noticed that she had been watching him intently this whole time. She had wandered off for a short period of time when Rie had been confessing everything, he noticed though.

"You did wonderful job with that." She told him, smiling at him. "Hattori-kun, was it?" She asked. "I've read about you in the newspapers sometimes."

"Ah, thank you." Heiji said with a small chuckle. Somehow he didn't feel that the looks she had been giving him were entirely due to recognizing him from the papers.

"I'm Arishima Mitsuta." She said, introducing herself and offering him a hand. He took it and gave it a shake, Mitsuta's eyebrows arching slightly as their skin touched. "I came here with my daughter, Tomo for a short vacation. I didn't expect to run into a kidnapping case though." She admitted. "But it's a good thing I was here, I suppose."

"Eh?" Heiji blinked. "Why's that?"

Lowering her voice a little, Mitsuta clasped his hand with her other, and Heiji briefly felt as if she had put something in his hand. She didn't remove her hand for the moment, however, so he couldn't check it out. "I heard from my husband the rumors about this place. Seems you met with something unpleasant?" She asked, then smiled a little at Heiji's shocked reaction. "See, I'm a bit of a detective too, it seems." She joked lightly. "But, don't worry. It's not as bad as it seems. You won't feel the full effects until around forty eight hours later, though there might be some traits that pop fairly quickly. Still you might need a little to tide you over. If you start feeling hunger pains, you should take it." She assured him.

Heiji opened his mouth, getting ready to deny everything- but looking a Mitsuta's face, he merely heaved a sigh. Whoever this women was, it was clear that she _knew._ And a good deal more than he did. "Ah... yeah." He said after a moment, glancing away a bit. "Forty eight hours, huh?" He paused, lowering his own voice. "Um, is it... like you know, in the horror movies?"

"Not at all. Not unless your personality is like that." Mitsuta assured him with a warm smile. "I have a clinic in Tokyo." She told him, pulling out a card from her pocket, letting go of his hand. Having a chance to glance down at what she had placed in it, Heiji saw that it was a small, corked vial. Quickly realizing what must have been in it, putting two and two together, he shoved it in his pocket before anyone could see it. "Please come by sometime soon. I'll answer any questions you might have." She told him, handing him the card, which he put away as well.

"Um, are you also...?" Heiji asked, trailing off a little.

"No, not me." Mitsuta told him. "My husband, though." Stepping back, she gave him a brief bow. "Then, I have to return to Tomo. Perhaps we'll speak more later, Hattori-kun." With that, the woman limped off, and Heiji watched as she headed back towards the second floor.

"What was that about, Heiji-niichan?" Conan piped up, causing Heiji to jump slightly. He relaxed a little when it seemed as if he hadn't actually heard anything, and smiled at him nervously.

"No, it was nothing. Just a reporter." He said, laughing a little, then fake yawning. "I'm gettin' a bit tired here, Kudo. Ya mind if we pick this up tomorrow?"

Conan's eyes narrowed, clearly recognizing this as a lie. Furthermore, he'd seen Heiji take something from that woman- something he had shoved firmly into his pocket. "But I'm not sleepy at all, Heiji-niichan!" He protested loudly.

Twitching a little, realizing that he was not going to make this easy, Heiji rubbed his forehead. "Sure ya are, kid! You're what, seven years old? It's way too late for you to be up." Leaning down and half-glaring at Conan, he locked eyes with him. "You're so tired ya could fall asleep right here, ain'tcha?"

Conan returned the look, opening his mouth to protest again that he wasn't tired- Heiji wasn't getting off this easily, when a wave of tiredness did in fact appear in him. Right before it overtook him, he couldn't help but notice that for a moment, Heiji's eyes had flickered a strange color- he was suddenly too tired to discern what color, but didn't have time to think of it, because the next thing he knew, he had crumpled to the floor, fast asleep.

"Whoa there!" Heiji said, quickly catching Conan, more than a little shocked. He let out a small sigh of relief when he noticed that Conan was simply sleeping, and frowned a little, carefully picking him up. He hadn't... had he? He wondered, rubbing his forehead. He was definitely going to have to take up Mitsuta's offer after all, he thought.

At least it got Kudo off his back for the moment.

* * *

Several hours later, Conan found himself waking up. Groaning a little, he pushed himself up into a sitting position, trying to reorganize his thoughts. He had been talking to Heiji about something, and then he had suddenly felt... tired. His memories coming back into a rush, he swore underneath his breath, glancing over at the clock on the nightstand. It was already five in the morning? He'd been asleep for several hours then. Making a face, he got out of bed, looking over towards Heiji's bed. He was lying there, appearing to be sleeping.

"Oi, Hattori." He said, turning on the lamp next to his bed, his expression rather cross. Pulling himself up onto Heiji's bed, cursing himself for having such a tiny body, he reached over to shake his friend awake. "Hatt...ori?" His anger dissipated in a second, Conan's face turning white as he quickly realized that the Osakan Detective wasn't breathing. "Oi, oi, can't be..." He said, hearing his own heart pound in his chest as he grabbed Heiji's wrist, trying to feel for a pulse. He was at first struck by how cold his friend was- he had felt corpses this cold before, but never a living person.

But then, Heiji also didn't have a pulse.

There was no way though? He had been fine just a few hours ago, hadn't he? "Oi, Hattori!" He said in a louder voice, giving his friend a firm shake, Conan's own heartbeat almost deafening in his own ears. "_Hattori_!"

Conan nearly fell off when Heiji suddenly stirred, blinking awake. Pushing himself up, he glanced over at Conan, before yawning a little. "...Kudo? What's up? You look like you've seen a ghost." He mumbled, clearly still half asleep.

Conan visibly relaxed at seeing his friend wake up, letting out a deep sigh of relief. "I guess I was mis-" Sliding his hands away from his friend's shoulders, he again blanched, becoming almost frozen in place.

"What is it? I'm tryin' to sleep here." Heiji complained, glowering a bit towards him.

Conan didn't say anything, though he did move again, reaching over to once again take Heiji's pulse. As he grew even paler, Heiji suddenly realized what was probably going on, and impulsively snatched his wrist away from Conan. Shaking a bit, Conan looked up at Heiji, looking as if he had seen a ghost.

"...You don't have a heartbeat, Hattori." He said slowly. One could almost hear Conan's brain trying to process what he was seeing in front of him, and failing, the gears not moving as they should. Not having a heartbeat, a pulse, not breathing, and having a cold body temperature were all pretty good signs of someone being dead- and yet Heiji was very much not dead, as he was right in front of him, moving and talking. There was no way he could be dead, and yet...

There was also no way Conan could be mistaken. Now that he looked at it, his friend still wasn't breathing either- and aside from the times when he had sighed or yawned, now that he was thinking about it, he hadn't been doing it since after he arrived back at the lodge with Riko, either.

Laughing nervously, Heiji rubbed the back of his head, trying to look for the best words to put his current situation in. "So, Kudo. About vampires... I think they might be kind of real?"

* * *

Author's Note: And finally we get into the real meat of the story! Not really much of a mystery in this arc, though honestly it was more meant to be a plot device than anything else. Better ones to come! At least I hope.


	4. Vampires

Author's Note: Fourth chapter! Lots and lots of exposition about vampires, but it couldn't be avoided, I guess. Next chapter should be lots of Heiji/Kazuha goodness though, which I look forward to writing!

* * *

Blood and Snow

Chapter Four: Vampires

As it turned out, even Shinichi Kudo, dubbed the Great Detective of the East, reacted like many people did when their firmly held belief systems crashed down in front of them.

Deny, deny, deny.

Conan heaved a sigh, rolling his eyes as he hopped off of Heiji's bed. "Very funny, Hattori. It was a cute prank, but shouldn't you save that sort of stuff for Kazuha and Ran?" He asked him. There was no way- _none_- that vampires existed, there must have been some other explanation for Heiji's lack of vital signs, and the simplest one his brain landed on was a prank. "I may _look _like a kid, Hattori, but I am not nearly as naive as one."

For his part, Heiji simply groaned, running a hand through his hair as he swung his legs out of bed. "Prank my foot, idiot." He half glowered down at his friend. "Ya wanna have another go at it?" He asked Conan, offering him up his wrist. "I ain't lyin', I'd appreciate it if ya gave me a little more benefit of the doubt. I didn't believe in 'em either until earlier, Kudo." He pointed out.

Conan hesitated, an expression clearly conveyed in his eyes. "No, there's just. Hattori, vampires _aren't real._"

"In that case I apologize fer not wakin' up non-existent this morning." Heiji muttered, rolling his eyes as he got up. "Look, Kudo." He began again, crossing his arms in front of him. "Did'ja think humans shrinking was possible two years ago?" He asked him, giving him a pointed look.

"I-" Conan began, rolling his eyes, clearly growing a bit frustrated. "That's _different_. That was a poison. _Science_, Hattori. Not some kind of magic, supernatural mumbo jumbo."

"Kudo, man, c'mon." Heiji said, arching an eyebrow. "I checked 'em myself while you were out like a light." He told him, referring to his own vital signs. Curiosity had gotten the better of him after he'd gotten back to his room, and he had, in fact, attempted to feel for his own pulse and heartbeat. Of course, he'd come back with nothing. Even though he had something a hunch this was going to be the case, he still wasn't entirely prepared for having the fact that he had died- actually died- dropped on him like a ton of bricks. To be honest, he was still reeling form the shock, much as it wasn't showing up on his face.

Conan merely groaned, running a hand through his hair, his brain trying to process what was in front of his face. There wasn't really any way Heiji could have faked those vital signs- or lack thereof, so easily. Starting to pace back and forth, the not-child mulled over various thoughts in his head in silence for awhile, while Heiji merely rolled his eyes, plopping back on his bed to watch him. After a few moments, Conan came to a halt, glancing over at Heiji, and looking at him suspiciously.

"Are you serious, Hattori?" Conan asked him, locking eyes with the Western Detective.

"Serious as I ever get, Kudo." Heiji said, shrugging his shoulders. "Ya want some more proof, cause I did a whole buncha other tests while you were snoozin'."

Conan opened his mouth to say something, before cutting himself short, rubbing his forehead as if he were trying to fight off a headache. "It might help. I want to believe you Hattori, but... _vampires_?" He looked up at him incredulously.

"Trust me, I understand." Heiji told him, standing back up. "Still tryin' ta wrap my own head around it myself." He admitted, sounding rather sheepish for a change. Reaching underneath his bed, he pulled his bag from where he had stowed it, fishing through it for a second. "Ah, there they are."

"There's what-" Conan stopped himself again. He was doing a lot of that today, he noticed. "Hattori, are those _teeth?"_

"They _were _mine." Heiji told him, laughing a little. In his hand was a small plastic bag with four teeth tucked neatly inside of it. "Up till I spat them out on the floor a few hours ago. That's when I grew these." He told him, pulling back one side of his mouth to reveal sharpened canines. "That one was a lil' too much fer me, so I decided to see if I could go ta sleep." He told Conan with a shrug, putting the plastic bag back away. "Obvious answer is yes, but maybe I should try ta avoid sleepin' in front of other people. Did'ja really think I was dead?" He asked him.

"Hattori, technically you _are _dead. You shouldn't even be talking to me right now, much less moving around." Conan said, finally sitting back on his own bed, trying to gather his thoughts. On one hand- Heiji's earlier point about shrinking humans was a good one. If someone had gone back in time and told the him from two years ago that he was going to lose ten years of his life, he would have laughed them off. And yet, it had happened. And while there was scientific basis for what had happened to him, walking, talking dead people was another thing entirely for Conan.

And yet here they were.

"You're handling this pretty well, Hattori." Conan observed.

"Eh." Heiji shrugged at him. "I'm not much one fer sittin' around mopin' and such." He told him. "Assurances that I'm not going to turn into some horrible monster helped, though." He admitted after a moment.

"The so-called reporter, you met with?" Conan inquired.

"That's right. Arishima Mitsuta, she introduced herself as." Heiji told him. "She runs a clinic in Tokyo, of some sort apparently. Rather, I can sorta imagine what sort." He told Conan, pulling out the card she'd given him from his bag and handing it to his friend. "Apparently her clinic ain't far from where you and Neechan live."

Taking the card, Conan scanned over it. It read like nothing more than your basic business card for a clinic, but Heiji was right- it was pretty close to them.

"She said ta visit, so I'm probably going to ditch Kazuha and head over there to see if I can't get some more information about... things." Heiji said, taking the card back from Conan. "I don't like the idea of runnin' into this blind."

"So how did you become a..." Conan paused, looking as if he was having trouble saying the word in question. If he said it, it was as if he was going to be forced to accept it as a reality, and there was a part of him that very much did not want to do that.

"...Vampire?" Heiji finished for him, lying back on his bed and staring up at the ceiling. "When I was lookin' fer Yukishiro-san, I stumbled upon somethin' I probably shouldn't have stumbled upon." He told him. It was really only now that the full realization hit Heiji and he jolted upright, swearing underneath his breath. "Ah, damnit Kudo. I been so busy with the case and you know... spittin' out teeth and shit I almost completely forgot."

"What?" Conan asked.

"I might have accidentally released a really _bad _vampire." Heiji groaned, running a hand through his hair. "I don't _feel _it here, so I'm guessin' it went another way but... I should probably try ta find it."

"So, this other... vampire," Conan hesitated. "Bit you, and then you became a vampire?"

"Pretty much." Heiji told him, appearing to be a bit lost in thought for a moment. "Feels like he cleaned me right out, ta put it one way." Heiji told him.

Conan looked over at his friend warily. "You're not going to try to bite _me_, are you?"

"Show some faith, kiddo." Heiji told him, rolling his eyes. "'Course not. Sides, from what Arishima-san said, doesn't look like um, that sorta feeling shows up for at least forty eight hours. Anyways, who knows what _your _blood would do to me with that whatever you have runnin' around in it."

"Point taken." Conan nodded his head. Heiji wasn't acting any differently from his normal self, after all, so Conan had no reasons to believe that he would suddenly attack him. "Are you going to tell anyone else about this? Like Kazuha, or your parents?"

Heiji considered the question. "Kazuha, probably. She's my childhood friend. Even if I didn't tell her, she'd probably notice after awhile. I don't think I could keep it from her if I tried- she seems sensitive about this kinda stuff. She deserves to know anyways." He frowned a little. "My parents... I don't know. My mom, _maybe_, she might believe it. My dad would just think I've gone coo-coo and lock me up somewhere, so not a word to him."

Conan winced a little after Heiji's little speech about Kazuha. It was obvious that he trusted his childhood friend deeply, and didn't doubt that she would accept him, even if he had become something other human. It wasn't that he didn't have his reasons for keeping Ran in the dark about his own secrets, but it did sort of strike him a little as wrong. Of course Ran deserved to know- and if the circumstances were different, he would have told her, of course he would have. He was planning on telling her when the Black Organization had finally vanished off the face of the Earth, but it still didn't change the fact that at the moment, he was lying to her.

"Don't mention a word of this to Neechan though, knowin' how she feels about you know, creatures of the night." Heiji eyed Conan, warning him. "Don't want to suddenly find her tryin' to keep me away from you with stakes or whatever."

"She wouldn't." Conan said, almost taking offense at the suggestion. "She knows you better than that, Hattori."

"Can't blame me for not wantin' ta take my chances, can you?" Heiji asked, shrugging his shoulders.

"I guess not really." Conan admitted. "I won't say anything to her, at any rate." And do a better job at covering it up than you do at hiding my secret, he mentally noted. Heiji probably should be less worried about Conan blowing his newfound secret, and be more worried about doing itself. Heiji was not exactly the world's greatest liar- scratch that, he was pretty terrible at it, in fact. "Speaking of taking your chances... do you know if that whole burns in the sunlight thing is true?" Conan asked.

Heiji paled a bit at the question, having not even thought about it until now. "I... sort of have no idea." He admitted. How exactly was he going to _leave _if he couldn't go out in the sun?

* * *

"It's a good thing that the sunlight thing turned out to be just a myth, Heiji-niichan!" Conan piped up. Morning had come and gone, and the group had gathered it's things to depart from the lodge, leaving behind the ski trip that didn't turn out at all as planned- for some, more than others. Heiji had tested out the sunlight theory a little before they left, by sticking his arm out an open window. Turns out there had been some mild discomfort, but no burning sensation or catching on fire, at least.

Thus, they had arrived back in Beika. Heiji had convinced Kazuha to spend a little extra time with Ran, while he took Conan out to have some 'boy's time'. She'd been annoyed by it, feeling as if Heiji was ditching her again, but eventually gave in. In reality, the pair of them were heading towards the address that was on the card Mitsuta had given to the Osakan Detective. They had asked after her at the front desk before they had left, and were informed that she and her daughter had already left early in the morning.

"You still don't look too hot though, Hattori." Conan observed, dropping the cute little kid act as soon as it had appeared. "You sure you're fine with the...?" He asked, glancing up towards the sun. As luck would have it, it was a sunny day, not a single cloud in the sky.

"It's... kind of annoyin'." Heiji admitted after a moment. "I don't think I'd want to be out in it fer extended periods of time but I can deal with it. It's not _that_, though." He mumbled.

"You said it wouldn't really start up until forty eight hours after, though." Conan recalled, quickly catching onto Heiji's drift. He glanced over at the Western Detective, unable to completely conceal his nervousness. He trusted Heiji alright, but right now he was in a situation that neither of them really knew much about- that neither of them had even believed was a real thing until just a short while ago.

"No idea when I was actually bitten, though." Heiji remarked. It was an unpleasant sensation, what he was feeling, to be sure. A sharp, stinging pain, that came and went, seemingly without warning. It had started on the train back to Beika, and had gotten gradually worse since then. He hadn't touched the blood vial that Mitsuta had given to him, not having the chance to. The brief spat he'd had with Kazuha earlier hadn't exactly helped matters, and now all in all, he just sort of wanted to find this damn office and get things over with.

"Mm." Was all Conan said, frowning a little. "Well, you're in luck, Hattori. Looks like we're here."

"Oh good." Heiji heaved a sigh of relief, glancing at the building in question. It appeared to be a small, three story building. Looking at the directory, he gathered that Mitsuta's office was in the basement. Following Conan down the steps, he glanced around his surroundings. They hadn't been walking all that long, so this place must have been closer to the Mouri's than he had at first thought. It was somewhat hard to believe that something that was a part of this world had been so close to his friend this whole time, and he'd never noticed it. Then again, from the outside, it appeared pretty unassuming.

After knocking on the door, Heiji could hear motion from the inside. His hearing had definitely improved, he noted, and the train ride had been hell because of it. He had to almost beg to borrow Sonoko's headphones for the trip in an attempt to drown out all of the noise. Kazuha had looked at him oddly for it, but seeing that he didn't seem to be feeling all that well, she hadn't pressed it. He was clearly going to have to tell her though, because she had that look on her face, the one he knew she got when she thought he was hiding something from her.

The door opened, and Mitsuta appeared in it, smiling as she noticed Heiji. "Ah, Hattori-kun!" She said, then glanced down at Conan, kneeling down a little. "And who's this boy?" She asked, looking up at Heiji.

"I'm Edogawa Conan!" Conan introduced himself, not giving Heiji the chance to muck it up as he was wont to do.

"Ah, he's something like my apprentice." Heiji told her, grinning a little as he rubbed Conan's hair. Seeing his friend's annoyed face probably shouldn't have amused him half as much as it did, but he couldn't exactly help it. "He knows."

"Are you going to help Heiji-niichan?" Conan inquired. Now that he got a closer look at her, he felt like he had seen her somewhere before. That didn't come as too much of a surprise though, given the fact that she worked so close to Ran's place. Judging from the sound of it, her daughter was also quite young, maybe a year or so older than his supposed age, so it wouldn't have shocked him if she were a student at Teitan Elementary. He wondered, briefly, if he had ever met the girl.

"That's right. Don't worry, I'll make sure your nii-chan has everything he needs." She reassured Conan, fluffing up his hair a little. Whatever sense she had to determine who was and wasn't a vampire apparently didn't apply to detecting shrunken teenagers. Standing up, she smiled up at Heiji, and stepped aside. "Then, come inside, the both of you. Conan-kun, would you like something to drink?" She paused, looking over at Heiji, giving him an assessing look. "Would _you _like something drink as well?"

Heiji flinched a little at the question, coming in and shutting the door behind him as Conan darted in ahead of him. "I... probably." He admitted. "Didn't have a chance to drink what ya give me..." He mumbled. He'd honestly been trying very hard not to think about the fact that he would have to drink human blood, and what that would have meant for him. Would that count as a charge of assault or theft, or both, the detective part of his brain couldn't help but wonder.

"Of course." Mitsuta nodded her head, leaving them alone for a moment as she limped over towards what appeared to be a kitchen area. A bit of noise later, she reemerged, holding a tray. There were two objects on them, one being a fairly innocuous carton of orange juice, and the other being a blood pack. Heiji suddenly couldn't help but feel vaguely uncomfortable, fighting back the feeling purely on the basis of how nonchalant Mitsuta looked about it. "I hope you like orange juice, Conan-kun, it's all I have at the moment. Not many human guests come by here, especially kids."

"Thank you, Mitsuta-neechan!" Conan accepted the carton, playing the cute little kid act up to full force. And it seemed to work too, Mitsuta flushed a little at being addressed as a 'neechan'. Apparently she was getting to that age where most children would instead address her as an old lady. The limp probably didn't help matters, Conan noted. Taking the carton, he began sipping on it a little, casting a glance over towards Heiji as he found himself confronted with the blood pack.

"Ah, thanks..." Heiji said, trailing off a little as he looked down at it. He couldn't help but wonder where she had gotten it from, though it didn't look as if Mitsuta was the type to do anything horribly illegal. He suddenly felt very uncomfortable in his own skin, holding this thing in his hands, as if it had not fully clicked with him yet that this was going to be his future. _Can I even eat normal food anymore?_ he couldn't help but wonder. What was worse is that he was obviously yearning for this, could feel it in his bones- his teeth as well, as they elongated with a sudden flash, leaving Heiji (and Conan, who had dropped his carton of juice) more than a little shocked.

"Don't worry about it." Mitsuta assured him, setting down the tray and taking a seat. "From what I hear, the first time is always the hardest. It was donated by the way." She added on the last part almost as an afterthought, as if catching wind of Heiji's thoughts.

"Right." Heiji said, taking and letting out a deep breath. Much as he didn't need to breathe anymore, it appeared that he still _could_, as shown in various involuntary reactions. Burying his apprehension, Heiji ripped off the tip of the blood bag, and sucked the contents out through the thin tube attached to it in one go. He thought it would have been hard to get down him at first, but it went down with such ease, it took him a second to realize when it was all gone. Pulling the blood bag away from him, he laughed a bit nervously as he looked at it, now empty of it's contents.

He had just drunk human blood.

Mitsuta was right, the first time really was the hardest. But Heiji imagined this would be rather awkward for awhile.

Wanting the thing out of his hands for the time being, he set it back on the tray. For the time being, he didn't make eye contact with Conan, in part because he wanted to avoid that astute detective's gaze he knew was turned on him at the moment. Because the blood had made him feel better, a lot better in fact. The hunger pains were gone as if they had never been there.

"I said it earlier, but you don't really need to worry about creating any actual victims, Hattori-kun." Mitsuta began, watching him carefully. "As long as you regularly get blood in small doses, you will never need to drain a human dry, as some might put it." She reassured him. "They usually won't remember, either. You won't accidentally end up turning anyone else into a vampire unless you drain them fully, either."

"So, I _am _going to have to find people to go an'..." Heiji frowned, mouth working to form the words, but unwilling to say them.

"Drink their blood?" Mitsuta finished for him. "Yes, you will. If this were England or somewhere in Europe, even America... there's a much larger donor net set up over there, but there's _not _really much of one here. Tokyo, yes, where you're from, not so much I'm afraid." She said, shaking her head. She had obviously done her research since they had last met. "All told there are probably only a handful of vampires living in your prefecture. There's not much of a support system set up there, I'm afraid to say." She confessed. "I imagine that's hard for you to really come to terms with, given what you do... but it is the reality."

"Right." Heiji said, heaving a sigh and leaning back in his chair a bit, his hunger sated, his fangs shrinking back into simply sharper than norm canines once more. He had prepared himself for something like this, but actually hearing it was another matter. He didn't even want to know what Kudo would think about the matter, and wished that he would stop _looking _at him.

Conan, meanwhile, was also considering this information. Watching Heiji, who he had viewed as his close friend for the past year or so, drinking from the blood bag had pretty much caused him to dispel any lingering disbelief he had about the existence of vampires. He also did notice that it genuinely seemed to help, Heiji didn't look quite as sick as he had been earlier. As for what Mitsuta had said... the detective part of his mind had very little doubt that the idea of going up to someone and sucking on their blood, even if only a little, was still very much legally ambiguous. He knew Heiji was thinking this as well, and knew it bothered him just as much.

On the other hand, it wasn't exactly like Conan could tell Heiji to not do it. Having now forced himself to come to terms with what he'd just witnessed, he knew that Heiji needed it, just like he needed food when he was hungry, or water when he was thirsty. Thinking about it that way, it was nothing more than a normal predator/prey, relationship, though Conan didn't know how he felt about being on the 'prey' side of this.

"I didn't want this." Heiji admitted after a few more moments of silence, looking back down at his feet. He had been putting on a good face about it to Conan, but at his very core, he was deeply disturbed. Just _seeing _a vampire would have been enough to deeply shake up his belief system, but actually becoming one was something else entirely. And while it was true that he wasn't the type to dwell on things like this, or to be become depressed, he would be lying if he said it didn't bother him any. "I really did not want this."

"Not many do." Mitsuta said, nodding knowingly. "It's going to be hard for you. I won't lie, it's going to be very hard. But it _will _get better, gradually." She reached over, putting a hand on his, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "You probably thought vampires were all myths and legends before this, didn't you?" She asked, drawing her hand back.

"Well, yeah." Heiji admitted, laughing a little. "Laughed about it when I heard the rumors about the area, even."

She nodded. "There's both truths and lies to the myths and legends." Mitsuta said. "The very first thing you should understand is that there are two types of vampires." She told him. "There's the kind like you, Hattori-kun, vampires that used to be human, and there are vampires that were born that way. Usually the product of a human mother and a vampire father, never the other way around. Sometimes two vampires can give birth to a child as well, but those are rather rare." She explained. "Vampires have mostly co-existed with humans for a long time. Just like with humans, there are always bad seeds, though. We try to deal with them before they become threats, however."

Continuing, Mitsuta smiled at him a little. "Seeing as you got here in one piece, I can safely assume that you aren't allergic to the sun, just irritated by it. I advise you not to spend a long time out in it though. Others aren't as lucky as you, you should be glad." There was a hint of personal sadness there, and Heiji briefly recalled that she had mentioned that her husband was also a vampire. He wondered if he was one of the 'not so lucky' ones.

"What else is true?" Heiji asked.

"Will Heiji-niichan really turn to dust if someone hits him with a stake?" Conan inquired.

"No, that's an exaggerated story." Mitsuta said with a laugh. "Stakes were used to pin down vampires, immobilize them. The old ones used to be very long, not like those little things you see in movies these days. Likewise, crosses and charms only work if the person holding them has some kind of strong belief in the symbol. Holy water works though. It'll burn you good, so I advise you to stay away from it." Mitsuta told him. "Avoid churches and shrines, other grounds of worship. The first shrine visit of the new year and festivals are out, sad to say. You can technically go there, but as they are considered holy ground, it's going to hurt like hell."

That piece of information seemed to bother Heiji. Kazuha wouldn't like it. She always looked forward to those things. It wasn't going to be fun to tell her he couldn't go with her anymore.

"You need to be invited into private residences. Public places you can come and go as you please, however." Mitsuta told him. "Even if you've been invited in somewhere before this, you're going to need to get permission from the person living there to do it again. Ah, this doesn't apply to your own house, though. You should also develop the ability to hypnotize people, which ties into the whole making people forget you have sucked their blood thing." She told him.

At that Conan shot Heiji a look, realizing that the reason he had suddenly felt so tired back at the lodge was because his friend had told him to sleep. Heiji merely shrugged, giving him a look that said he hadn't exactly _meant _to do so.

"You've probably already noticed that your senses have improved. Your strength, speed, agility, and stamina should improve right along with them, so exercise caution." Mitsuta warned him. "If you were doing a sport before, you might have to consider dropping out of it." She frowned as that got a reaction from Heiji, namely a loud swear. "Ah, so you were. I did say _consider _though, if you can find enough focus to restrain yourself, then you should be alright."

"Anythin' else?" Heiji asked, rubbing his forehead. He was going to have to find a way to cope, because he was sure as hell that the rest of the members of the kendo team were never going to forgive him if he tried to drop out on them. On the other hand, he didn't want to accidentally cave anyone's skull in either.

"Let's see..." Mitsuta said, leaning back a little, trying to think. "Garlic is a myth. Your saliva can close wounds. You will show up in mirrors, but not in photographs or video images, so be careful. There are a host of other various abilities that can show themselves in vampires, but which ones crop up are dependent on the vampire in question. You might be able to levitate, or just out and out fly- you'll probably be growing retractable wings if the latter is true," she added, "and if you develop neither of those, you should then develop the ability to walk on walls and ceilings. You'll also heal faster, much faster than any human, although it will exhaust your blood supply, so do keep that in mind."

"And..." She said, her lips pulling into a tight frown. "Barring someone chops of your head or you spend a lengthy amount of time in holy ground, you won't die. You won't age either." She leaned back a little, putting up her hands a bit. "Immorality, almost."

Some people would find that an exciting piece of news. Heiji, however, didn't. There was visible pain on his face as he contemplated the full effects of what, exactly, that meant, knowing that it meant that everyone around him would grow old and eventually die while he... didn't. He felt his words from the case with the mermaid's worship coming back to him, sounding horribly ironic to his ears now. Half a year ago, he had spoken of immorality as a curse, and here he was, faced with that very same thing. He would stay exactly the same, and be left behind, by Kudo, Neechan, his parents, Kazuha, and everyone he had ever known.

He really hadn't wanted this.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry." Mitsuta said, watching him carefully. She knew, it seemed, exactly what was going on in his head.

After a moment, Heiji looked at her, locking eyes with her, a serious expression crossing his face, the kind that he didn't get all that often outside of cases. "How do you deal with it?" He asked.

"Because my husband's a vampire?" She asked, and frowned a little, considering the question. "Day by day, I suppose. It's harder on him than it is for me." She admitted. "But I wouldn't separate from him for all the world and if he tries to separate from me, I'll beat him up." She said, the last part with an added note of cheerfulness.

"Ne, if your husbands a vampire, what about your daughter?" Conan asked, looking over at the woman. "Is she a vampire too?"

"Oh, not at all. We had her before he was turned." She told Conan, smiling at him. "Do you go to Teitan Elementary, Conan-kun?" She asked. "That's where we send Tomo. I think she's probably just a grade higher than you, from the looks of things. You're in the first grade?" She guessed.

"That's right!" Conan nodded his head. But for a women who looked only to be in her early twenties to have a child older than how he supposedly looked, then that meant... A brief flush colored his cheeks as he did the math. Shaking off such thoughts, he now started to remember various things. About how there was a little girl in the second grade who only ever had her mother show up for events, and never her father. He'd apparently shown up all of once, during a school organized test of courage, and had apparently created a bit of a stir there. There were mummers going on among some of the teachers and parents after that how 'scandalous' such a thing was, that there was a teenage father. Knowing what he knew now, Conan realized that the father in question probably only _looked _like a teenager. In a strange way, he felt he could sympathize. There had been a fight in the girl's class later the next day, though Conan didn't exactly know the details.

It was strange, realizing that the supernatural was this close to him all of his life, and he never noticed it at all. Conan wondered exactly what else was out there that he was missing, and the thought sent a brief shiver down his spine. What else _indeed_, he wondered.

"But don't tell Tomo about her father if you meet her, okay, Conan-kun?" Mitsuta asked, putting a finger to her lips. "We haven't exactly told her yet." She admitted, sounding a little sheepish. "Thought she wouldn't understand... then again, if Conan-kun here understands about you, Hattori-kun, then perhaps I should reconsider my stance on that." She mused.

"I won't!" Conan promised.

"Right." Turning back to Heiji, she gave him a gentle smile, before recalling something. "That's right, I have things to give you!" She said, standing up and clapping her hands. "Pardon me one moment." She said, ducking into another room. There were some more bangs and very loud clatter before Mitsuta came back out again, holding several objects bundled into her arms, which she spread out on her desk. "First and foremost is this." She said, holding up what appeared to be a wallet. When she opened it up, it revealed that inside where several of the little blood vials, similar to the one she had given him earlier, all of them filled up.

"Seeing blood can sometimes trigger cravings in vampires. A minor cut or something of that nature won't do it, but other things... they will." She told him. "And considering that you're a detective, I sort of imagine you will run into blood. Take these with you, and if you see something that brings up the cravings, take one when you have the chance. It should solve the problems." She told him, handing it to Heiji, who studied it. It was cold, in spite of having no source of cooling inside of it. "I suggest stocking up on as many little vials as you can, seeing how often you seem to ah," she paused, as if looking for the right words, "...trip over bodies."

_That _got a chuckle from Heiji, and he exchanged a knowing look with Conan. She was probably right about that.

"I would find someone you trust as a donor for them, by the way." Mitsuta added. "Not little Conan-kun here, though. Try not to take blood from children." She advised, to which Heiji nodded. Of course he wasn't going to take blood from little kids.

Picking up a bottle of pills and shaking them a bit before she handed them to Heiji, she leaned back a bit on her desk, perhaps to ease the weight on her injured leg. "Those are appetite suppressants. They will whisk away your need for blood for at least twenty four hours. Never take more than two in forty eight hours, however." She warned him. "And only take them if you think you're going to be put into a situation where you can't get easy access to blood. Like, being on a plane for example."

"Side effects?" Heiji inquired.

"Pain from hell once they wear off, or so I'm told." Mitsuta said. "Yuuma used them once and then never again, so keep that in mind."

"Duly noted." Heiji said, tucking both the pills and the wallet with the vials away into his bag. "Anythin' else?" He asked her.

"Take your choice from any of these." Mitsuta said, holding what appeared to be a jewelry case. Inside of it were various forms of silver jewelry, varying from clip on earrings, to bracelets, to a ring. "Wearing these block out your vampire aura. It will keep people that you don't want to find you off of your back." She told him, a very grim look on her face.

"Vampire hunters?" Heiji hazarded a guess, to which Mitsuta nodded. "Oh _fun_." He said, sarcasm tinting his voice, as he rolled his eyes. Looking over the objects gathered, he eventually settled on the ear cuffs- a pair of thing, silver pieces of metal that hooked on directly to the helix of his ear. Playing with them for a second, he hooked them on.

"Mitsuta-neechan, what about the vampire that bit Heiji-niichan?" Conan asked as Mitsuta put the box away. "What do you know about him?"

"Bad seed." Mitsuta said, still frowning. "He's been around a long time. Born a vampire, one of those rare babies from dual vampire parents." She explained. "He can change his appearance, though only once ever hundred years or so. He probably looks nothing like what you last saw him as now. Blended in with the rest of the Japanese." She noted, looking over at Heiji. "We don't have a name for him. But he's bad news." She smiled a little when she saw the stricken expression on Heiji's face. "It's not your fault. Shoddy job on the sealing in the first place. It would have fallen apart eventually even if you hadn't been there, Hattori-kun."

"Still." Heiji said, standing up. "I am still a detective, and probably one of the only ones who stands a chance at finding the guy right now." He told her.

"I can't stop you." Mitsuta said, nodding her head. "I'll pass on any information I hear about him to you if you'll give me your cell phone number though." She added.

"Ah, alright." Heiji said, pulling out his cell phone. They quickly exchanged numbers, and he tucked it away again. "Thanks, Arishima-san. You've been a lot of help."

"That's my job. Professional vampire consultant and doctor." Mitsuta said with a chuckle. "And please, Mitsuta is fine."

"Vampires need doctors?" Conan asked, sounding incredulous.

"Even vampires get sick sometimes." Mitsuta told him, before turning back to Heiji. "Are you sure you'll be fine, Hattori-kun?" She asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I know this is all probably coming as a huge shock to you."

Heiji considered the question. "I'll get used to it, I guess." He admitted after a moment. "I'm going to have to, at any rate. Who knows? Maybe being a vampire will help with my detective work." He joked, flashing a genuine grin that Conan, for once, was glad to see.

"Alright then." Mitsuta said, nodding her head. "Well, good luck to you, Hattori-kun."

* * *

It was a bit later in the evening when Heiji and Kazuha departed back to Osaka. They had spent a bit of time at Ran's place (though Conan teasingly wouldn't let Heiji in at first, much to his annoyance), and that had passed mostly without incidents. Heiji had never really noticed before how much the place reeked of alcohol, probably because he didn't have the nose to smell it before now. He put it on his list of places to avoid.

He also decided that he needed to buy some serious headphones for the train. There was that infernal noise again, rattling in his head. He couldn't understand how it didn't bother Kazuha, though he realized his hearing was now far sharper than hers ever could be.

At the moment, she was leaning on his shoulder, trying to provide her childhood friend some comfort. Kazuha was worried about him, he'd been acting strangely ever since he had come back to the lodge with Riko. And he still felt cold, she noticed, repressing a shiver as she felt her skin brush against his. He shouldn't have been that cold. She was worried at first that he was really sick after all, and had tried to insist that he go see the doctor once they got back to Osaka. He had turned this down, however, rather vehemently so.

But unlike Heiji and Conan, Kazuha did believe in the supernatural. She was, after all, the maker of charms that many of her classmates considered to be lucky. And she got the strangest sense that something was off about her childhood friend. It was in the way he walked, the way moved. She couldn't put her finger on exactly what it was, but she had a terrible feeling in the knot of her stomach that something had happened to Heiji, something that was much worse than a simple sickness.

"Heiji?" She asked him, taking his hand to get his attention.

"Hm? What is it, Kazuha?" Heiji asked, glancing down at her, trying to put the train noises out of his head for the moment.

"Something happened to you, didn't it?" She asked him, locking eyes with him. "While you were missing?"

And there it was, that look Kazuha hoped not to see. There was a touch of sadness to him, as he gave her hand a small squeeze. "Yeah."

"Will you tell me about it?" She asked him.

"Soon." Heiji promised her. "I'll tell you about it soon."

"You're still you though, right Heiji?" Kazuha asked, leaning her head against his shoulder, closing her eyes a little. She'd only gotten a few hours of sleep last night, and had been up for a long time before that. It was starting to get to her now.

"Idiot." Heiji said gently. "Of course I'm still me."

"I see." Kazuha sighed, seeming relieved. "That's good."

She seemed to drift off then, and Heiji couldn't help but smile a little bit at her. It was a little bit uncomfortable, the way they were sitting, but he wouldn't budge her for the world. She must have been exhausted. He'd heard from Ran that she hadn't slept much while he had been missing, only a couple of hours. If she wanted to use him as an impromptu pillow, then she was more than welcome to do so.

Heiji would tell her, and soon, too. But they still had that date he promised to go on with her ahead of him, and he didn't want anything spoiling that. So it would wait.

There were a lot of things that Heiji was still uncertain about. His future, how to deal with this newfound strangeness, where to find the vampire that turned him, and where to start looking, even.

But the one thing he hadn't even doubted for a second was that even after he told her, Kazuha would be there.

He didn't doubt it for a second.


	5. Blood, Bombs, and Chocolate

Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and added this story to their alerts or favorites so far! You're the best. 3 It was pretty fun to write this chapter, mainly because Heiji and Kazuha are probably my favorite DC pairing ever.

* * *

Blood and Snow

Chapter Five: Blood, Bombs, and Chocolates

It had been a week since Heiji and Kazuha had arrived back in Osaka, both worn out from their long trip. Kazuha had still been dozing as they reached their final destination, resulting in Heiji having to carry her and her bags back home. Thankfully, the strength he had gained from being a vampire had enabled him to get her home without any problem. Unfortunately, however, getting her inside the house had been the trick, and he'd been forced to wake her up rather unceremoniously. She'd been mad at him for an entire day after that, complaining that her butt was still sore from being suddenly dropped on it. She'd eventually forgiven him after he had apologized a number of times, however.

Homecoming had been a strange thing for Heiji, seeing as he was different from how he was when he had left. It was still pretty early in the morning when the pair came back, but people were already awake in his house- his parents had always been early risers. Thankfully, what Mitsuta had said earlier was true- he didn't have any trouble getting inside of his own house, like he had at Kazuha's. His father was just departing for the day when he returned, so they didn't speak very much- that said, they didn't often speak all that much to begin with. He'd spoken to his mother, though, who seemed worried upon noticing that he was a little pale, but Heiji had reassured her that he was alright.

One of the first things Heiji discovered for himself upon returning is that while he could, in theory, eat regular food, he apparently couldn't properly digest it. That meant only one way for it to come up from, and since then, he'd been trying to avoid having to eat for show if he could. He knew it upset his mom, and felt more than a little guilty about it- and more than just a little annoyed at the knowledge he'd never be really able to eat any of his favorite foods again. He apparently could still drink liquids without any ill effect, but none of them really did anything for him.

Thus, what needed to be done was inevitable, and Heiji hadn't looked forward to it. It was late at night when he snuck out of his room, after everyone else was fast asleep. If there was one benefit to becoming a vampire, it was that he could move rather quietly. As hard as it was to think about, once he resolved himself to do what he needed, he found what happened next to be fairly easy. He still didn't enjoy it, but it wasn't as difficult as he'd feared. Thus, it became his nightly routine to sneak out late at night and find someone (usually a woman, the thought of having to drink blood from man churned his stomach just a little), sate his needs, erase their memory, and head back before anyone noticed he was missing.

Overall, things had mostly been going well. Heiji hadn't run into a case yet since coming back home, for which he was somewhat grateful. It would give him time to readjust to what he was, what he had become. And there was still the matter of Kazuha, at hand, both telling her his secret and following up on the promised date- which he still viewed as an outing between friends, even after Kazuha had suddenly canceled on him on the first promised day, only to reschedule on what turned out to be Valentine's Day.

Though it was awkward having to sneak around his parents, it wasn't exactly the first time Heiji had done things without either of them knowing about it. While never anything this big, there were plenty of times that he had stuck his noses into cases that his father had tried to chase him off from. He would have to be careful, though, and had taken precautions to try and ensure that he wouldn't be suddenly caught off guard. For one thing, he had to avoid his mother's fondness for video taping him. He didn't exactly want to know what her reaction would be when she went back and checked the tapes later only to find a bunch of blank images on them.

Of the two of them, his father, as always, was the more problematic. Heiji had a feeling that he was suspecting something was going on with his son, though he hadn't said anything yet. For his part, Heiji did everything he could not to ring any alarm bells around him.

But for today, he was going to put his parents out of his mind, and enjoy spending time with Kazuha. He still hadn't exactly decided what to tell her and exactly what words to use to do so, but his resolve was still there. He'd promised, after all. For her part, she had put off asking Heiji any more questions, apparently satisfied with his promise that he would tell her about it in good time.

Checking his watch however, he groaned a little. "She's late. The hell's holdin' that girl up?" Heiji asked, glancing around. They had decided to meet at the park today and Heiji had planted himself on a bench overlooking it. It was mid-morning at the moment, and it was shaping up to be a rather nice day. Aside from a few stray clouds, the sky was blue and the sun was shining. It felt somewhat warmer than it had in awhile, hinting that there was an early spring coming. Well, that would have been all fine and good, if not for the mild sense of irritation the sun caused on his skin. He could live with it, sure enough, but it was still enough to want Kazuha to hurry up and arrive already.

When she finally did turn up, around thirty minutes late, Heiji heard her coming before she even called out to him. Restraining himself from standing right away upon recognizing the sound of her footsteps, he waited until she called out his name. Standing up and turning around to look at his childhood friend, he paused and blinked a little, as if certain gears in his head had decided to stop working for a short moment.

"K-Kazuha." Heiji stammered out a little bit. "You're dressed up kinda fancy." He said, awkwardly reaching back to scratch the back of his head. Even though what his friend was dressed in could hardly be called formal wear, Heiji suddenly felt very undressed, having tossed on his clothes this morning without much of a second thought. Kazuha, however, had apparently taken great care in choosing her outfit, right down to the white beret that adorned her head. She even had her hair down for a change- off the top of his head, Heiji couldn't recall the last time he had seen that.

"What, this?" Kazuha said, laughing a little, trying to conceal the blush that graced her cheeks. She was wearing a dark green blouse, with a thin white vest over it, and a matching dark green skirt, with white tights underneath. "It's just something I threw together at the last minute, idiot! Who'd dress fancy just for a meeting with you, anyways?" She asked, shrugging her shoulders before promptly mentally swearing at herself. She had said she wasn't going to do that sort of thing today- she had promised herself that she was going to try to be perfectly honest with her feelings for a change.

"Oh~?" Heiji asked, raising his eyebrows. "Well, it took ya long enough to get here. Yer thirty minutes late. Thought you weren't gonna show up."

"I got a bit held up, that's all." Kazuha said with a huff. "It's not like you haven't arrived to your fair share of meetings way behind schedule. You run into a case and then completely forget to call me. Really, you're hopeless when it comes to a mystery."

Heiji laughed a little- she did sort of have him on that. Now that he thought about it, that sort of thing had actually happened a lot. "Sorry, sorry. I'll try not ta let that happen again." He promised her, though Kazuha looked thoroughly unconvinced. Judging from her expression, Heiji got the distinct impression that he had probably made that promise more than once.

"Well, that's fine." Kazuha said, smiling a little bit at him. "Should we go then?" She asked, offering him a hand. When Heiji took it, she couldn't help but shiver briefly. Despite the warmer than usual weather for this time of year, her friend's hand was still nearly ice cold. His temperature hadn't improved at all since that ski trap with Ran and everyone. She had been worried about it, of course, but Heiji had promised that he would tell her about it when he was ready to, so she did her best not to press the issue. She trusted Heiji, after all, and aside from an abnormal drop in body temperature, he still seemed like the same old Heiji that she had always known.

"Ah, sorry, are ya cold?" Heiji asked, though he knew full well the reason behind Kazuha's sudden shiver. It seemed like his body temperature was going to firmly remain in the realm of that of a corpse. He was going to have to remind himself to not let his father or Otaki touch him. Being police officers, he didn't have any illusions that their brains wouldn't automatically remember any of the number of corpses they had dealt with in the past. "Should we have picked some place else to go today?"

"No, it's fine, Heiji. It was just a sudden chill." Kazuha assured him, wondering if perhaps Heiji wasn't aware of how cold he'd grown lately. No, she thought, the look on his face indicated otherwise. Smiling a little at him, she gave his hand a firm squeeze, as if to assure him that it wasn't going to be a problem. "I've been looking forward to going to the amusement park! I haven't been to one since we went to Tropical Land awhile back, and we all know how _that _turned out."

Heiji laughed a little at that. "Sorry, I'll try not to find any more dead bodies this time."

"I swear, it's like people actually plan to fall dead in front of you." Kazuha huffed. "It only gets worse when you and Conan-kun are together. They all but rain down from the heavens then."

Flashing his usual grin at her, Heiji let out another chuckle. "Well, it's not 'xactly our fault. I know what ya mean though, it'd be nice ta be able to go on vacation without runnin' into a case every so often."

They walked a bit in silence then, enjoying each others company. For some reason it felt like it had been awhile since they had hung out like this, just the two of them. These days it seemed like whenever Heiji wasn't on a case, he was always spending time with Conan. It wasn't that Kazuha minded it, it was always nice to see Ran and Conan, but she missed the time the pair of them spent with just each other. Maybe if she could actually bring herself to do what she was planning to do today, that would change, and Heiji would find some more time with her. That is, if she could manage it. Last year, she'd just chucked some chocolates at Heiji's face and yelled about them being 'obligation chocolates' before scurrying out of the room. Even though she had spent so much time the night before making them herself, she didn't even stick around to learn if he'd eaten them.

Today, however, would be different. Today, she would personally hand Heiji the chocolates she had spent last night making. Today, she would gather up her courage again and confess to him again- and make _damn well_ sure he actually stuck around for it this time. If Ran had managed to get the perpetually absent Shinichi to confess to her, then she was sure as hell going to confess to the ever present Heiji.

* * *

"There sure are an awful lot of couples around." Heiji remarked as they entered the gates of the amusement park, glancing about. Everywhere he looked, it seemed that there were lovey dovey couples, walking hand in hand with each other. Idly, he wondered if some people were looking at him and Kazuha that way, and seemed to laugh at the thought- there was no way. Even if Heiji did have the occasional moment when he thought it might have been nice to become something more than just friends with Kazuha, he'd always seemed to decide that she had no interest in him aside from friendship.

And what with him being a vampire now, Heiji wondered if it would have even been fair to her to express any sorts of feelings to her. Although Mitsuta had told him she got by being a human in a relationship with a vampire, it was still obviously a hard thing.

"Obviously." Kazuha said. "That's because it's Valentine's Day, idiot." She told him. Kazuha too, wondered if the people around them viewed them as a couple, and hoped that they did. Well, come to think of it, it wouldn't have been the first time someone had mistaken them for being boyfriend and girlfriend when they were still, despite her best efforts, just friends.

"Ah, that's right, that was today." Heiji noted, glancing around. That was probably why he could sense so much nervousness about him and pounding heart beats. It was a little annoying, but he'd gradually been getting used to dealing with his sharpened senses. It wasn't as bad as it had been earlier, and he could even deal with riding the train these days without too much difficulty. "Why did you change the date to today anyways?" He asked, glancing over towards Kazuha, a sly, teasing look forming on his face. "What, you plannin' on confessin' to me or somethin'?" He asked.

When Kazuha's face lit up at the question, Heiji was just a little startled. He didn't even need the increased hearing to know that her heart had started the pound rapidly inside of her chest. "W-what are you talking about, idiot?" She said, turning away from him and pulling her hand from his. "I just had things to do on the day we were supposed to go at first! They came suddenly! That's all! Don't over think things!"

"Ah." Heiji blinked, a bit taken aback. Had he... possibly hit right on the mark? But there was no way, right? He mulled over this question. Was Kazuha really interested in him? "Well, if ya insist." He said with a shrug.

Kazuha once again, mentally slapped herself. Heiji had even made the perfect opening for her, and she had blown it. Sighing a little, she forced herself to cheer up. The day was long, and she had plenty of other chances. "Let's go on some rides, Heiji!" She said, taking his hand again, smiling at him. "They've built a new roller coaster since the last time we came here! I've been meaning to check it out."

"Ah, sure." Heiji quickly grinned at her, trying to push aside thoughts of Kazuha's possible feelings for him. She was acting pretty normal, otherwise. Besides, he needed to stay focused on what he needed to tell her at the end of today. For the moment, however, he let her lead him along to the new roller coaster in question, letting out a low whistle as he caught sight of it. "That's quite somethin'."

"Right?" Kazuha asked, turning back to grin at him. "And lucky~ The line's not too long."

* * *

"I can't believe it!" Kazuha complained, heaving a sigh as they departed the roller coaster platform, looking upset. She held a photograph in her hands, pouting deeply. "I heard they were giving away free photos from the rides," _to couples,_ she noted in her head, seemingly pleased at having been mistaken for one, "...and the camera screws up so you're not even in it."

"Yeah, pretty unlucky, right?" Heiji laughed a bit nervously. He had completely forgotten that some amusement parks were set up to take photos of people on the rides, and had the option of handing said photographs out to people at the end. It had been merely good luck that the camera in question had been acting strangely since earlier in the morning, so it wasn't questioned too much when there was a sudden lack of a person in the seat next to Kazuha. "It's not even a very good photo of you, either, not sure why you took it." He noted.

"It's the principle of the thing." She noted, frowning and making an attempt to fix her hair. Maybe she shouldn't have bothered doing anything with it today after all, if it was just going to get mussed up on the rides. Ran had suggested that dressing a bit differently from normal might help set up a good mood, but so far it hadn't seemed to get the reaction she was hoping from Heiji.

Heaving another sigh as she tucked the photograph away in her bag, Kazuha cheered herself up. "Why don't we go to the haunted house next, Heiji?" She asked, glancing over at the building, automatically identifiable by how much it stood out from it's surroundings.

"A haunted house, huh..." Heiji said, pondering this, before grinning a little, a slightly mischievous look appearing. "Sure, why not?" He wanted to see if they had any people dressed up as vampires there- it might be a little bit fun to give them a fright instead. Snickering to himself, he took Kazuha's hand this time, leading the way.

Though Kazuha flushed a little at the contact, she did catch the expression on Heiji's face, and rolled her eyes a little. He was up to something, she could tell. Hopefully it wouldn't get the pair of them kicked out of the park. "Don't do anything mean." She said lightly.

"What, me?" Heiji chuckled a little. "_Never_."

"Hmmm~" Kazuha raised her eyebrows, giving the Western Detective a skeptical look. Well, whatever. The haunted house would present Kazuha with another good chance- she could pretend to be frightened, and cling to Heiji, and create a good mood between them. Once they were outside, she could take advantage of it to hand him his chocolate and finally confess to him. It was the perfect plan- there was nothing that could _possibly _go wrong, she reasoned.

Right?

* * *

Kazuha was mistaken.

"What did you do to cause the poor guy to just _faint _like that, Heiji!" Kazuha yelled at him. The pair had been escorted outside of the haunted house (but luckily, not kicked out of the park) after Heiji apparently did something to cause one of the poor park workers dressed up as a vampire to pass out then and there.

"I didn't expect him to faint, idiot!" Heiji protested. "Ya think workin' in a haunted house they'd be a little more used to scary things." He mumbled underneath his breath. All he'd done when the fake vampire had shown up was give him a flash of his fangs- hidden from Kazuha's view, of course, and the bastard had fainted right on the spot. How was he supposed to know someone would react that badly? He did still think it was pretty funny, mind you, and would have to rely this to Kudo later.

"Well apparently not. You're just lucky the poor guy didn't hit his head on anything on the way down." Kazuha said, heaving a sigh, and rubbing her forehead. She should have known something would have gone wrong when she saw that _look _on Heiji's face. She'd known him long enough to know that he had never entirely grown out of his boyish love for the occasional prank. "They could have decided to kick us out, you know." She told him, eyeing him with a hard look.

"Okay, okay." Heiji said. "I'm sorry, Kazuha, it was wrong of me." He apologized. "I'll make it up to ya, I promise."

"Then..." Kazuha frowned a little, trailing off and looking away. "...go in the tunnel of love with me."

"...eh?" Heiji said, freezing in place and staring at Kazuha. It was as if every gear in his head had shut off at the same time, screeching to a sudden halt and bringing his ability to think properly with it. "T-the tunnel of love?" He stammered out.

"That's right!" Kazuha said, looking back at him. "I said I want to go in the tunnel of love with you, Heiji! You got a problem with that?"

"But Kazuha, the tunnel of love is fer couples..." Heiji began, mentally trying to kick start his brain again.

"Well, maybe that's what I _want_, idiot!" Kazuha yelled, quite a bit louder than she had intended to. Not only did Heiji hear it this time- so did a number of other people, in fact. And they turned to stare. Suddenly, it felt as if all eyes were on the pair, and realizing exactly what it was she had said. All at once, her face lit up.

"You..." Heiji stammered, wide eyed, feeling his own face heat up. "Kazuha, you couldn't possibly mean..."

"Maybe I do! _Idiot!_" Kazuha found herself yelling at him again, attracting even more attention. Suddenly feeling an attack of butterflies as the result of the sudden attention they were getting, and Heiji's own slow reaction to her much less than graceful confession, she impulsively found herself turning on her heel, dashing away from Heiji and across the amusement park. Upon realizing what exactly what it was that she had done, she finally came to a stop, pausing to catch her breath. Looking behind her, she looked back with a wince to realize that she had made considerable distance.

"Damnit, Kazuha." She said to herself, standing up. "You need to get it together. You found a perfect chance there..." She heaved a deep sigh. "And you blew it. Again. Can't blame Heiji for _this _one."

Looking up, Kazuha noticed that she had come by the Ferris wheel. Deciding that she needed to calm her nerves a little bit, she decided to get on it and regain a bit of her courage, before reuniting with Heiji again. She promised to herself that she would follow through on what she had tried to say earlier.

* * *

Heiji, meanwhile, was dumbfounded.

As if he was frozen to the very ground, he hadn't moved from where he was when Kazuha had unexpectedly blurted out that she would have liked to be a couple with him and then had just... taken off. He could all but feel the eyes on him, suddenly feeling very naked, trying to wrap his mind around the events that had just transpired. "Okay, Heiji, let's just think this one through for a minute." He said, rubbing his forehead, trying to get his brain to work again.

Kazuha had said she _wanted _to be a couple with him. Of that, he had very little doubt.

The same Kazuha that he had known all of his life, who had been around him for as long as he could remember, wanted to _date _him. She had feelings for him- _romantic _feelings. Once the sudden shock wore off, Heiji slowly came to realize that there were signs- many signs, leading up to this point. She had even tried to confess to him before, but he had blown her off like an idiot to go and taunt Kudo upon hearing that he had confessed to Ran without telling him. That sure would have explained why she had been so mad at him for awhile afterwards.

"Oh man." He groaned, placing his hand on his face. "I screwed up." He realized. "Some detective I am if I can't even tell my own childhood friend wanted ta be somethin' more than just childhood friends with me."

Had Kudo known about this? Had Ran? Did _everyone _know about this aside from him? The more Heiji thought about it, the more obvious the answer was yes. Even that Sonoko girl had probably realized it before he did. And it wasn't exactly recent either. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that there were signs that Kazuha liked him ever middle school. But _he _hadn't noticed it, not one bit.

And when Heiji started to think about it, he slowly realized that what he felt for Kazuha wasn't just plain friendship. Oh sure, he felt that. But separate from that, he realized that he really _did _have feelings for the girl, deep feelings for her. "No _wonder _some people think I'm dense." He mumbled to himself. "Not noticing Kazuha's feelings is one thing, but how the hell did I manage ta miss my own?" He grumbled.

It was a bit of bitter irony that he had only realized this _after _becoming a vampire, something that would have immensely complicated matters between the two. It was almost enough, almost, to make him want to turn Kazuha down. Even if he did, he knew, the two of them would still remain fast friends. Sure, things might be a little awkward for awhile, but eventually...

But no. Heiji shook his head, deciding then and there that he wasn't going to do that. No, denying his own feelings and rejecting Kazuha would only be like a cancer to their relationship. So he needed to tell her- not only that he felt the same way, but also the reasons why he thought things might work out in the long run. And in the end, the person who really would decide on that would be Kazuha. She was the only person who could determine if she was able to handle having a relationship with someone who would remain frozen in time as she grew older by the day.

Thinking anything else would only be completely unfair to her.

"Course first I have to find 'er." Heiji grumbled, frowning as he looked over the park. Kazuha really could sprint when she wanted to, she'd gotten pretty far. He couldn't even see here anymore. He reached into his pocket for his cell phone to try calling her, only to pause, realizing that he hadn't gotten it fixed yet after the trip. "Naturally." He said, rolling his eyes. An idea, however, formed in his mind.

Finding an out of the way place, Heiji closed his eyes and concentrated, drowning out all other sources of sound, and listening to the sounds of the heartbeats around him. One thing he had realized since becoming a vampire was that everyone around him seemed to have a different sound to their heartbeat. Just like he could tell people apart from the sound of their footsteps, he could also tell them apart by their heartbeats. Frowning deeply as he tried to sort through them for the one he knew he would recognize, he finally heard it, grinning a little as he did so. It was a bit distant, but still within his range of hearing when he concentrated. _So she's over that way._ He frowned again, as he then located another heartbeat that he was familiar with.

And it was coming straight up to him. "Otaki-han?" Heiji said aloud, opening his eyes. He apparently startled the older man, and Heiji laughed a little. "Ah, sorry. What are you doin' here, Otaki-han? Didn't think you were much one fer amusement parks."

"Mm, about that, Hei-chan." Otaki began, a grim look on his face. "We actually received a warning at headquarters a short while ago.

Heiji's eyes narrowed. "A warnin'? What kind?" He asked him. That didn't sound good.

Glancing around, Otaki kept his voice low, so that the passersbys couldn't hear him. "Well actually, it's a bomb warning."

"Eh? Otaki-han, are you _serious_?" Heiji asked him, grabbing the older man by the shoulders. There was a bomb threat on this park, and Kazuha was out there, by _herself_? If it were a single culprit, Heiji might not have been so worried, knowing that Kazuha could more than handle herself- but there wasn't exactly much you could do to defend yourself from a bomb.

Otaki winced, as Heiji tightened his grip on his shoulders without realizing it. Had Hei-chan always been this strong? Seeing that he seemed to be hurting his older friend, Heiji quickly removed his hands, dropping them awkwardly by his sides.

"Yes, I'm afraid I'm very serious. We've checked it out and it seems valid." Otaki told him. "Somewhere in this park, there is a person who has strapped themselves with bombs."

"Why haven't you evacuated the place?" Heiji asked, eyes darting around.

"In the warning letter, they threatened to detonate their bombs automatically if we made any obvious moves to do so." Otaki said. "They declared it's in revenge against all the happy couples on Valentine's Day. It's a bind, Hei-chan. We have undercover officers and park security alike looking for them as discreetly as possible, but if we don't find them before two thirty, they've threatened to detonate their bombs. If I were you, I would take Kazuha and take her to someplace safe." He blinked then, looking around and seeing Kazuha nowhere around. "Where is Kazuha, though? I thought you two were on a date together."

If the situation were anything else, Heiji would have responded to this with a flustered face and a stumbled explanation of the events leading up to their separation, but there was no time for that. "We got separated." He said simply, glancing down at his watch and suppressing the urge to swear. Two thirty? That left him with thirty minutes to find Kazuha. And there was no way he was going to let some mad bomber crash a bunch of couple's important day, either.

"Then, I'll have an officer look out for her and tell her to get out of the park..." Otaki began, but Heiji cut him off.

"It's okay, I know where she is. Or close enough, at any rate." Heiji told him. "I'll get 'er myself, and keep an eye out for the bomber on the way." He said. "I'll let you know if I find 'em."

* * *

Kazuha heaved a sigh, feeling a little more comfortable now that she had gotten into the Ferris wheel. It felt a little bit awkward to be by herself when there were so many couples milling about the amusement park, but a little relief was provided when she noticed that she wasn't the only person who was alone today. There were other people, both ahead of her, and behind her, who were lining up for the Ferris wheel. As the door to the Ferris wheel closed behind her, she leaned back a little.

"Okay, Kazuha." She said, as the Ferris wheel began to move. "After this, you'll get off, find Heiji, apologize for running away, and conclude your confession properly. With chocolates and everything." She told herself, nodding her head. "And then, in the evening, you'll come back with him and ride the Ferris wheel with him this time." She blushed a little at the thought, wondering if they would have a fireworks show that evening. Digging through her purse, she pulled out the event schedule for the day, and began to flip through it.

"Ah, they do!" Kazuha grinned, briefly fantasizing about how romantic it would be to watch the fireworks from the Ferris wheel with Heiji. Giggling a bit to herself, she put the schedule back away, briefly checking on her chocolate. Gazing down from the Ferris wheel, she looked out over the amusement park, wondering if she could see Heiji from here. She wondered if he was looking for her- he probably was, she had just sort of up and ran off, after all

"Oh?" She leaned forward a bit more, blinking. "Is that... ah, it is!" Kazuha grinned, spotting Heiji on the ground. He really was looking for her! And with such a frantic expression on his face. Was he really that worried? She frowned though, a little. Somehow, the expression didn't seem normal- wasn't he a little too frantic?

And then, suddenly, the pair of them locked eyes, Heiji looking straight in her direction. Kazuha felt her face lighting up again, her heart pounding in her chest. Wasn't that just a coincidence, though? She was so high up, and yet it seemed as if he could see her perfectly from where he was on the ground. A hint of relief seemed to cross his face, before a different expression appeared, and he tore his gaze away from her.

Kazuha frowned, her heart pounding in her chest for a different reason now.

Was that fear?

* * *

Tracing Kazuha's heartbeat hadn't nearly been as tough as Heiji had thought. He had known it all of his life, even if he hadn't been able to really hear it up until now. Tracking her to the Ferris wheel, he glanced through the crowds at first, before looking up, realizing she must have been inside of it. Most likely to calm herself down, he figured, spotting her almost right away. His shoulders slumped in relief as he realized she was fine. Still flustered from the looks of things, he thought, laughing a little as he saw her turning bright red again.

His ears caught the sound of something else now, a sound that would have made his blood run cold if he were not already technically dead. Tearing his eyes away from Kazuha, he cast a look back towards the crowd. Shutting out other noises, he tried to concentrate on the sound that he had heard. It was unmistakably the sound of a timer slowly counting down, masked by the sounds the rest of the crowd was making.

A quick glance down at his watch indicated that it was only twenty minutes to the promised detonation time of the bomb. Swearing underneath his breath, his eyes darted through the crowed, trying to determine exactly who was the bomber amongst the throngs of people. A quick survey gathered several suspects, but he didn't have the time to go through them and question them all. And who was to say that the bomber wouldn't notice what he was doing and decide to detonate the bomb early anyways?

Though it was unnecessary, Heiji took in and let out a deep breath. It served to calm him, if nothing else. No- he had ways, other ways, of finding this person. And he had a way to convince them stop the bomb, if not a way he would have considered absurd just days ago. Calming himself, he closed his eyes again, focusing once more on the sounds around him. Once more, he concentrated on the sound of the timer, slowly counting down. Behind him, he could hear Otaki's footsteps and heartbeat, though he was still a bit away from him. Putting that sound out of his mind, he fixed himself on the sound of the timer.

Keeping the sound in his mind, he opened his eyes and carefully assessed the crowd again. Moving quietly, Heiji made his way towards the source of the sound, carefully not to stir any attention. Eventually, he found the person the sound was coming from. She was a fairly average looking woman, if not slightly plump, with dark brown hair and a face spotted with freckles. She was alone amongst the couples, and was looking down at the ground, not making eye contact with anyone. Her clothing was baggy and heavy, just right for concealing the bomb that was unmistakably strapped to her chest.

Heiji's gaze briefly flickered down towards his watch again. Sixteen minutes, now. He couldn't afford to make a mistake, or to draw too much attention to himself. Carefully ducking underneath the rope that organized the lines, he got a few annoyed shouts from the people around him. The women in question, startled by his sudden appearance, looked up, and locked eyes with him. Out of the corner of his eye, Heiji could see one of her hands move towards her pocket, obviously where the detonator was hidden.

"Don't do that." Heiji told her, keeping his eyes trained on the woman. "You don't want to do that." He said slowly, his eye color shifting over towards that of a golden-green color.

The woman's movements slowed, as if she was unable to draw herself away from Heiji's eyes. Her breathing slowed, and Heiji could hear her heartbeat calm itself. Somewhere, in the distance, he could hear Otaki, still a bit away. From the sounds of it, he had spotted Heiji by now, but hadn't seen the woman yet.

"I... don't want to do that." The woman said slowly, as if she was uncertain of it herself.

Holding up his hand to cut off someone mid-sentence who was in line behind her, who tried to interrupt him, Heiji kept his gaze fixed on the woman. Looking away would break the hypnotism, after all. "You want to deactivate that dangerous thing and give what's in your pocket to me." He instructed her slowly. "You can, deactivate it, right?"

Slowly the women nodded her head. "I... can." She told him, slowly unbuttoning her coat and pulling it off, without removing her gaze from his. She couldn't, though visibly, some small part of her wanted to. As she shrugged off her coat, a mummer went out in the crowd, that eventually turned into a mild panic when someone realized exactly what it was that the woman had around her torso. People were forcing other people aside, gaining distance away from this woman.

_That _attracted Otaki's attention, and it didn't take much for him to realize the reason behind this panic. But what puzzled him was to find Heiji at the center, perfectly calm as he appeared to be... reasoning? Reasoning with the woman so desperate to make Valentine's Day a nightmare for everyone else that she had acquired a bomb and strapped it to herself. Whatever it he was doing, it appeared to be working, as the woman wordlessly passed over the detonator to Heiji, before unstrapping the bomb.

The woman fiddled with the bomb, opening up the back panel and pulling a few wires forcibly lose. The ticking of the timer suddenly came to a halt, and Heiji bit back a sigh of relief, not wanting to break the spell quite yet. "Good. Now give that to me." Heiji instructed, hearing Otaki cautiously approach from the side. No doubt what he was doing looked strange, and explaining it later might be a problem. But right now, the most important thing would be to save lives, including the woman's. Kudo would have never forgiven him if he had let a culprit die in front of him.

The woman moved, handing the deactivated bomb to Heiji, who heaved a sigh, closing his eyes, finally breaking off the spell. There was a small shudder that accompanied this. Just in time too, as his eyes turned back to their normal color just as Otaki arrived. "Otaki-han, here, take this damn thing." He said, all but shoving it towards the officer. "This woman is the culprit, but I'm sure you can gather that much."

Otaki briefly motioned to some undercover officers nearby, a silent wave to tell them to come and cuff the women, who was slowly coming back to herself. Taking the deactivated bomb carefully from Heiji, the officer eyed his best friend's son a bit strangely. Something seemed a bit _off _about this whole situation. "Exactly what did you do, Hei-chan?" He asked him.

Heiji simply flashed him a grin, shrugging his shoulders. "Nothin' much, Otaki-han! Just did a bit of reasonin' with her is all!"

The bomber in question, suddenly coming back to herself all in a rush, quickly looked down, realizing she had been stripped of both bomb and detonator. Gasping a bit like a fish as she saw the officers closing in on her, she gave a cry, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a butterfly knife, flipping it open. Apparently, when denied her bombing suicide, she had decided on another route.

Swearing underneath his breath, Heiji jumped in as she attempted to bring the knife to her throat, idiotically blocking it with his hand. Swearing again- vampire or not, getting stabbed apparently still _hurt_, he grabbed her wrist with his free hand, yanking the knife out of it. Otaki himself also sprang into action, quickly grabbing the woman's arms and pinning her down to the ground, as the officers arrived to place handcuffs on her.

"Hei-chan!" Otaki said, getting to his feet, turning to the young detective. "Are you alright? We need to call an ambulance!" He called out.

"No!" Heiji almost hissed, pulling his hand back. "No ambulances."

"Hei-chan, I don't know if you've noticed this or not, but you have a knife _sticking through your hand." _Otaki pointed out, looking at him like he was crazy.

_Yes, and if I go to a hospital, they'll find out I don't have any vital signs while watching my wound close on it's own. No thank you. _Heiji thought to himself. "It's not as bad as it looks?" He offered.

"_Heiji!_" Kazuha, who had just been released from the Ferris wheel, darted over towards the scene. From her perch in the sky, she had watched the whole thing unfold. Quickly closing the distance between them, she grabbed Heiji's injured hand. "Otaki-han's right! We need to call an ambulance!"

"Kazuha." Heiji said lowly, dropping his tone to one Otaki couldn't hear. "I _can't_ go to a hospital." He told her.

Kazuha opened her mouth again, but quickly shut it. Heiji wasn't just saying that he didn't want to go to a hospital. He was saying that he _couldn't _go to a hospital. The realization struck her like a ton of bricks, and she saw the look in his eyes, on almost pleading for Kazuha to help him, to get him an out in this situation. "Alright, we won't go to a hospital." She said slowly. "Sorry, Otaki-han! I'm going to rush Heiji to... a doctor I know. Who is nearby." She lied through her teeth.

However obvious a lie it was, she didn't give him time to protest, as she grabbed Heiji by the wrist and half dragged her along with him. The two sprinted across the park, until Heiji stopped her, pulling her behind a service building. It was quite there, and there was nobody around. No cameras either, Heiji noted out of the corner of his eye. Not that it mattered, he supposed.

Kazuha gasped for her breath, sinking down against the wall. Glancing over at her childhood friend, she watched as he slid down next to her, running his good hand through his hair. "Thank you, Kazuha." He said, smiling at her. She took note that her friend didn't even appear winded, even after they had run so far, so quickly.

"Heiji..." She began, but he cut her off, putting his good hand against her lips and shaking his head.

"I _did _promise you an explanation." Heiji said, sounding almost sheepish. Without another word, he reached over, plucking the butterfly knife out of his hand, and then to the ground, tossing it away from him a bit.

"Heiji, what a minute, if you do that then the blood will-" Kazuha froze, eyes locked on Heiji's hand as the injury healed itself. In a minute, Heiji's hand looked like nothing had ever happened to it. "Heiji, you..."

"I know." Heiji said, laughing a little in spite of himself, doing his put on his usual grin. "Sorry, Kazuha. Back on the train, ya were right. Somethin' did happen ta me back then." His mouth worked wordlessly for a few moments, as if trying to find the right words for his situation. Finally, he just decided to say it straight out. "Um, I'm a vampire."

The silence hung awkwardly for a moment between the two of them, as they each looked at the other. Kazuha looked at her childhood friend, who was obviously fighting to keep up a mask of cheerfulness, which was growing harder as each passing second continued the silence. Finally, she broke it, reaching her arms around his neck and embracing him tightly. "Oh Heiji, I'm so _sorry_."

She could feel Heiji relax under her arms, and could feel it when he returned her embrace, unsure at first, then holding her closer. They stayed like that for what most have been minutes, each finding it strangely comfortable like that, as if they'd been longing to do this their entire lives. Kazuha didn't even seem to care if this sudden closeness caused her to realize her friend's lack of a heartbeat. It was fine. Heiji was still Heiji, just as he had said he was back on the train.

There was only one person that she knew who was impulsive enough to try and block a knife with his hand, after all. Of all the ways to do it, of _course _he would go for the most reckless and idiotic one.

Finally, Kazuha pulled back, cupping her hands around Heiji's face. "I see. No wonder you're so cold." She said with a small laugh. "Have you told anyone else?"

"Ku-Conan-kun found out by accident." Heiji admitted. "There's someone else who I found who can help me too." He smiled a little at Kazuha. "But you're the first person I've _told."_

"I see." She said, sitting back on her heels. There was a bit of a silence then, as Kazuha considered her next words. "Would it help any if I told you I loved you?" She asked, cheeks tinting red.

Heiji grinned, this one with actual feeling to match the expression. "Maybe a little. Are ya sure yer fine with _this_?" He asked, reaching over to one corner of his mouth, pulling it back a little to show her the sharpened canines.

"Of course." Kazuha said, not even having to consider the answer for a moment. She took Heiji's hand in her own, clasping it between them. "You're so cold, after all, you need someone by your side to warm you up."

"I'm not gonna get any older." Heiji said after a moment. "You'll be a eighty year old lady datin' a teenager someday. People'll look at us weird."

"That's fine." Kazuha said, locking her fingers with his. "I'll be the eighty year old lady who beats up anyone who tries to make fun of us. I don't care, Heiji." She told him. "I just want to be with you, is all. I'm fine with you, no matter form you take."

"I see." Heiji said, smiling at her. "I... love you too, Kazuha. Sorry I was too stupid to realize that until now." He said, face turning a shade of red.

"It's alright." Kazuha laughed a little. There was a sound of a grumbling stomach then, and Kazuha blinked, glancing down at her own. "That's wasn't me... _oh." _She said, catching sight of Heiji's own bright red face, redder than it had been a second ago. "Are you hungry, Heiji?"

"Ah, a little." Heiji admitted. He was starting to feel those hunger pains again, earlier than he should have. Healing wounds really did take up a certain amount of energy after all.

"Um, if you're fine with me..." Kazuha began, shrugging off her vest and pulling down her collar a little bit. "I can give you my blood, Heiji."

"Are you sure, Kazuha?" Heiji asked, looking uncertain. "It's apparently unpleasant."

"Well, I apparently can't give you the chocolate I was planning on anymore. And after I worked so hard on it." Kazuha noted, grinning in amusement as she took note of Heiji's flustered reaction. "The one year you were about to get real chocolates from me, you _had _to go and turn into a vampire."

"I could eat them." Heiji told her. "It's just keepin' 'em down that's the problem."

"Shut up, I can still hear your stomach, and my shoulder's getting cold, idiot." Kazuha told him. "You might not be getting any older, but I'm sure not getting any younger."

"Alright, if you're sure." Heiji said after a moment. Glancing around to make sure no one was watching, Heiji carefully took a hold of Kazuha's arms, pulling her closer to him. Leaning down over her shoulder, his fangs grew out, and he bit down on her neck as gently as he could. He winced a little as he heard his friend- no, girlfriend it was now, let out a sudden gasp, but when she took hold of his arms, reassuring him that it was okay, he went on with it. Carefully only taking what he needed, Heiji drew back after a moment, pausing briefly to run his tongue over the wound, which closed afterwards.

A bit dazed, Kazuha took a second to notice that Heiji had finished. Trying to shake off her wooziness, she grasped onto his arms tighter. "Oh. You weren't kidding. Everything's spinning." She said, trying to focus her gaze and laughing a little. "I wonder if this is what being drunk feels like. Are you better now, though?"

"All filled up." Heiji told her with a small grin. "You taste delicious, though, Kazuha." He teased, his fangs retracting. Mentally, she now realized exactly what he had done to freak out that poor fake vampire from earlier so badly. She would hit him later when she wasn't so woozy. For that, and the delicious comment. "You're gonna be light headed fer awhile, but it's okay. I gotcha."

"I know." She said, wrapping her arms around his neck, leaning into his chest. "And I've got you back."

* * *

Author's Note: With this, the first arc is over! Next up, the second arc! There are a total of four planned, one which we've already finished, of course. As always, please leave a review if you feel so inclined! Detective Conan and related characters are of course, not mine.


	6. Feral

Author's Note: And the start of the new arc! One that more heavily deals with vampires, even. Well, so will the next two arcs as well. Thanks for all the reviews, guys! Even the ones with some rather hilarious typos, kufufufufufu~

Detective Conan and it's characters are not mine.

* * *

Blood and Snow

Chapter Six: Feral

"Look now, Kazuha." Hattori Heiji began, looking over at his childhood friend, who was now something more than a childhood friend. Crossing his arms in front of him, the high school detective turned vampire looked at her with a rather cross expression. "This ain't exactly a field trip 'ere."

"I know." Kazuha said, nodding her head and smiling at her friend- no, boyfriend now, it was. "It's a case, right?"

"That's right, it's a case." Heiji told her. "You've gotten yerself in danger 'afore, comin' along on cases with me, but ya know full well this ain't a _normal _case." He half-scolded her, still looking displeased. He had dropped by Kazuha's house to see her off before he left, only to find her waiting for him with a duffel bag crammed full of stuff. He'd almost tried to drive on past her, but the glare that she sent towards his back caused him to meekly turn around and drive back.

If looks could kill, Heiji would have probably died a second time.

"I know that too." Kazuha said, nodding her head. "But, Mr. Great Detective, I think you might need me." She told him.

"And why is that?" Heiji asked her, leaning against his motorcycle, a skeptical look on his face.

"Ara?" Kazuha raised her eyebrows, an amused expression appearing on her face. "And _who _was it that called me in a panic several times this month because you physically couldn't enter a crime scene? Or when you needed someone to be your eyes and ears at the shrine murder from last week because every time you went in there, you felt like you were on fire? Or the person who needed me to get him down from the ceiling because he got himself up there without knowing how to get back down? Let's see..." She said, drumming two fingers against her chin, lifting her eyes in thought. "I wonder who that was? Maybe a certain idiot vampire detective..."

Heiji twitched. He hated to admit it, but she did kind of have a point. "But Kazuha- those were all _normal _cases." He said again. "Ya know the stuff that's on the record?" He heaved a sigh at her unchanged expression, scratching his head, as if looking for words to convince her with. "It's dangerous fer... well, it's dangerous fer _normal _humans." He hesitated a little. "'Sides, that ceilin' thing was a one time thing."

"Come on, Heiji." Kazuha said, crossing her arms and giving him a look. "I'm not nearly as reckless as a certain _someone _I know. And don't you dare try to pull that hypnosis stuff on me again, mister." She lectured him. "You're heading off somewhere where you don't even know anyone there, without knowing what you're going to run into there. You might need some help, is what I'm saying."

Heiji groaned at this, before heaving another sigh. "Alright, alright." He conceded. "Ya got a point, Kazuha, I'll admit that much. I guess you can come along if ya really feel the need to."

Smiling at him, Kazuha leaned over and gave Heiji a quick peck on the check, which caused him to flush slightly. Well, maybe bringing her along wouldn't be so bad after all...

"Well, that's settled then!" Kazuha said, taking the spare helmet out. "Are you sure you'll be alright riding this thing all the way out there? What with the sun and all?" She inquired as Heiji put his own helmet back on and took a seat on his motorcycle, making room for Kazuha to sit behind him. She got on after him, adjusting the strap on her duffel bag to make sure it stayed firmly in place, before she wrapped her arms around Heiji's waist.

"Ah, it'll be fine." Heiji said, after considering the question for a moment. "I'm pretty much all covered up anyways, an we can always stop fer awhile on the way there if it gets to much." He shrugged, putting his motorcycle out of the brake position and starting up the engine again. He winced a little, the sound momentarily overwhelming all of his other senses, before it died back down to tolerable levels. That had been a problem he'd realized only when he had first returned home- the noise had been almost so unbearable at first that he wasn't even able to ride it for some time. Having super hearing could sure come in handy during cases, but there were just as many times when it was just a huge pain in the rear.

"Alright then." Kazuha grinned, snuggling a bit closer to Heiji, holding him tighter. "You can still hear me, right?"

"Kazuha, I can hear _everythin' _these days." Heiji said, rolling his eyes, then smirking a little. "Like that conversation ya were havin' back in the classroom with yer friends the other day. Fer what it's worth, I think yer breasts are fine the size they are."

Kazuha lit up at that, smacking Heiji on the back of the head. "Idiot! Don't overhear those kinds of things!"

"Oh yes, I'll be sure ta turn off the super hearin' next time." Heiji joked, rolling his eyes a little. Thoughts now a little more focused on things aside from the roar of the engine, he started off.

It had been nearly a month since that fateful ski trip, and the month was now March. True to what the weather hinted at during his amusement park date with Kazuha earlier, spring had come fairly early, and although there was still a faint chill in the air, there were signs of plants springing to life around them. It was a good day to be traveling, even if one was traveling towards a rather strange case.

"Hey, what did you tell your parents?" Kazuha inquired a little while in. "Surely you didn't tell them you were going to investigate rumors of strange occultists in the mountains."

"Hell no." Heiji said. "I told 'em I got a request from an acquaintance to help with a puzzlin' case. Well, technically I guess it's true." He mused. The request had been sent to him by Mitsuta, who had heard about it from some friends of hers who lived in the area in question. She said that there were activities going on there that bothered him, and were also of a possible supernatural nature. 'Humans messing with things that they shouldn't mess with' was exactly how she put it, but the implications were fairly clear.

It hadn't been the first time a bit of unexpected work had come his way via Mitsuta. As it turned out, the world of the supernatural was much bigger than just vampires, and the vampire doctor's profession made her something of a central grapevine hub. Human law might not entirely cover the supernatural, but it turned out that human _justice _also didn't cover them. Heiji had done some investigating on his own recently, and had turned up old police reports for the Osaka Prefecture dating back to at least the early 1900s, of various cases of murder and home invasion that someone high ranking had put a 'stop' on, preventing further investigation.

It made his blood boil, to be frank.

Of course, Heiji had also nearly been caught by his father snooping around the old files, in a place that he really shouldn't have been. He'd ended up hypnotizing him, and feeling guilty for it for weeks afterwards, unable to meet his father's eyes. To make matters worse, Heiji knew his father suspected something was going on with his son. Otaki, had of course, told him about the attempted amusement park bombing, and although Kazuha had bandaged up Heiji's hand as camouflage, he felt like his father had been able to see right through it.

Keeping secrets from his father was a very hard thing to do, as it turned out, especially when it was one as big as this. Sometimes he thought about just throwing his hands up and telling him- but his strict, extremely rational father believing in vampires? Yeah right. He'd likely just toss Heiji into the nearest institution.

"So he still has no idea, huh?" Kazuha asked, frowning a little.

"Of course he doesn't." Heiji chuckled a little. "What do ya think I should do, Kazuha, go up an' tell him, 'Hey old man, I got bitten by a vampire and turned into one, so don't mind me while I go around an' bite some necks, okay'?" Shaking his head, Heiji maneuvered to overtake a slow car. "Do you really think he'd believe it? And even if he did, do ya really think he'd be okay with it?"

"He's your _father_, Heiji." Kazuha insisted. "What about your mom, then?"

"Yeah, well, he ain't exactly all that fatherly all the time. An' he's a police officer. Ya realize that technically any one of those people I, ah..." he paused, trying to work out the words. As much as he had more or less forced himself to accept his current situation, it could still be difficult to talk about it.

"That you suck blood from?" Kazuha finished for him. Strangely, she seemed more at ease with it than Heiji did. Perhaps it was simply because she wasn't the vampire in question. "And you're worried he'll suddenly track them down and charge you for assault."

"It could happen." Heiji said, frowning a little. "It technically is. Ain't sure how many courts out there that are gonna accept, 'But I need it ta live and also possibly to not go crazy', Kazuha."

"Well, I guess. I still think you're worrying over nothing, Heiji." Kazuha frowned a little. She didn't like the idea of Heiji keeping secrets from his parents. She had overheard his mother discussing it with her mother just a few days ago, remarking how her son's behavior had gotten very strange recently. She was fretting over how he rarely ate anything she cooked anymore, about how he seemed to be keeping odd hours as of late, and apparently about an incident where he'd accidentally punched a hole in the wall of a crime scene out of frustration. Her mother had commented that her father also had heard from Heizo that Heiji was acting strangely, as if he was keeping something from him. Heiji's mother had just seemed so worried to Kazuha, and even if Heiji's father didn't really show it, she figured that he was worried as well.

Her own parents had been a little concerned about her too, given the occasional presence of bandages wrapped around her neck, like the ones she wore at the moment. Amidst all this worry however, there had been a piece of good news. The hospital had contacted Kazuha and told her that Riko had finally woken up some two weeks ago. She'd gone there with Heiji, in order to return the necklace she had still been holding on to for Riko. The woman hadn't exactly gotten off scot free, having several of fingers amputated almost upon arriving at the hospital, due to frostbite. Nevertheless, she seemed energetic enough to tease Kazuha when she learned she had finally confessed to Heiji.

"Better safe than sorry." Heiji muttered. "Look Kazuha, I know their worried an' everythin' an' I do feel bad about it." He told her. "It's just... not everyone is gonna be like you, Kazuha." His expression turned serious underneath his helmet. "Neechan, for instance, would probably flip 'er shit."

"That's not nice to say about Ran-chan." Kazuha huffed, flicking his back with her finger. "Well, I guess it's your choice, Heiji."

* * *

It was the late afternoon by the time that Heiji and Kazuha had arrived at their destination. They'd made several stops along the way, two for Kazuha to get a bite to eat and use the facilities, one for Heiji to get a much more literal bite to eat, and another for Heiji again when the sun was at it's peak, in which they had pulled over to the side of the road and ducked inside a forest, Heiji carrying his motorcycle along with him so nobody got any bright ideas about taking it.

"...Is this really the house Arishima-san's friends are letting you stay in, Heiji?" Kazuha found herself asking as she gazed at the building in front of them. Rather than building, mansion might be a better term. Although it was tucked away in the forest, off from any many roads, the building itself was impressive. It was a western style house, and although the paint was cracking and peeling in some places, it wasn't very hard to imagine it at the height of it's glory. It was walled in, with a huge iron gate blocking out any intruders, giving it a very private feeling. "It's amazing."

Heiji was rather taken aback as well, not imagining that the house that Mitsuta had said he could stay in while here was anything like this. "It looks like there's room fer everyone we know in 'ere." He couldn't help but observe, parking his motorcycle and getting off. Refraining from gawking at the mansion, he walked back to the iron gates, pulling them shut behind him. "Exactly what kind of people are these acquaintances of Mitsuta-han's?"

"Rich, probably." Kazuha observed, working to fix her hair somewhat. She watched as Heiji went up to the door, and after searching in his pockets for a few minutes, came up with the key that had been sent to him. Unlocking the house, he glanced inside. "Heiji, do you need some help there?" His girlfriend as, her voice clearly teasing in tone.

"No, I've already been given permission." Heiji told her, shooting her a look back that said he was not pleased with that tone, before pulling the doors open wider. "From the looks of it, the folks in question may 'ave not used it fer awhile. Looks dusty." Going inside, he found the light switch, and switched it on. The place lit up, and Heiji nodded to himself, coming back outside. "Electricity works fine though. Guessin' runnin' water does as well." He told her, strolling back over to his motorcycle. From inside of it's storage compartment, he took his own bag, as well as a locked cooler that got a brief eyebrow raise from Kazuha.

"Better safe than sorry." Heiji repeated. "Come on, we should get settled in while we can."

Kazuha followed her boyfriend inside, hurrying a little to catch up with him. "You're right." She observed, looking around. "This place looks like it could a serious cleaning." As if to emphasize the point, she let out a small sneeze. Sniffing, she laughed a little at Heiji, who grinned back at her.

"Well, I guess we pretty much 'ave a run of the place." Heiji said, looking around. "I'm guessin' that most of the bedrooms are on the second floor." Locating the stairs, he gave them a small test first, and upon establishing that they could hold their weight, he motioned for Kazuha to follow him up.

Once they had found rooms in which to dump their things, the pair met at the bottom of the stairs again. "Ah, that's right. If yer here, we're gonna have ta go grocery shoppin'." Heiji recalled. "I saw one a couple miles back from 'ere. We'll go back down in a little. Ya fine fer now, Kazuha?" He asked, glancing back at her.

"Yeah, I'm still full from earlier." Kazuha told him with a small bit of laughter. "So, what's this case about again?" She asked him, as they headed into what was apparently the living room. After dusting off the couch, she took a seat on it, while Heiji plopped himself in a chair across from her.

"Well, it starts with a kidnappin'." Heiji told her. "I told you that over the phone, though, right? 'Bout the daughter of some locals goin' missin' round these parts. Her name was Takamura Megumi, if I recall correctly. She was went missin' over three months ago. Police 'ere looked into it, but they didn't turn up any leads. It was like she vanished without a trace."

"I see." Kazuha nodded, frowning a little. "She was around our age, right?"

"That's right. Everyone seemed to agree that she was a nice, pretty girl." Heiji nodded his head. "Startin' a little over two months ago, bodies started turnin' up around here though." His expression turned grim at this, and Kazuha took note that he was now wearing his baseball cap with the grim facing the right way. Clearly he'd gone into full case mode upon arriving here. She smiled a little to see it, apparently finding it nice that despite all the other changes Heiji had gone through recently, his little habits were still the same.

"You said something about them being vampire victims?" Kazuha asked. "Ah, you don't think they're related to the one who turned you?"

"No." Heiji shook his head. "I looked into that 'afore I came here, and it doesn't seem like it. I still have no idea where that bastard went off to. No, these are different." He told her. "When ya normally got a bad vampire, they would just suck ya dry fer everythin' you got." Kazuha couldn't help but notice a small shiver run up Heiji's spine, as he obviously recalled his own experience in the matter.

"And Mitsuta-han said it was more like these victims had been sucked of every fluid they had in their bodies." Heiji told her. "Leavin' them as nothin' much more than shriveled up corpses. An' of course, the police have no leads at all." Sighing a little, Heiji glanced over at Kazuha. "Earlier, Mitsuta-han was tellin' me that there were two types of vampires. At least, naturally created ones. Apparently, there's a third type."

"A third type?" Kazuha asked, eyes narrowing a little. "And that's this type?"

"That's what it seems like." Heiji told her with a nod. "She called 'em feral vampires. They got no thought or reason in their head, they just live ta feed. That'd explain the state of the victims well enough, but..." He trailed off.

"There's strange things about the case?" Kazuha offered.

"That's exactly it." Heiji nodded. "If it was just a feral vampire, then normally it'd just attack everythin' in it's path without stoppin'. But this one seems strange. Like there's somethin' holdin' em back. There's too much time between the bodies discovered, and not enough of 'em for this to be normal. Someone's obviously holdin' the reins on this thing." Standing up now, he began to pace across the room. "Corpses have also been turnin' up in people's houses too. Feral vampires play by the same rules as every other kind of vampire. So the question is, who is pullin' her reigns?"

"I see." Kazuha frowned, leaning back deep in the couch. "That's certainly seems weird. You mentioned in your phone call that feral vampires are like artificial vampires, right?"

"That's right. Created by magic rituals and things like that." Heiji turned to face her. "I've got very little doubt that our feral is the missing Takamura-han." A slightly pained look appeared on his face then. "I'd like ta see her saved as well, but from what Mitsuta told me, there's a very small time window ta save someone who's become a feral, and that window has passed. Well, she probably doesn't have anythin' left of her old mind, but it's still sad."

"I see." Kazuha glanced down at her feet, obviously feeling pity for this poor girl, in spite of never having met her. "That's horrible. Poor girl."

"I agree." Heiji said, a flash of anger on his face. "It ain't right, what was done to her. That's why I'm here, to find the bastards who did it. I might not be able to link them to the murders, but I sure as hell can nail 'em fer kidnapping. Probably, they created a feral for some sort of purpose. If I find out what that purpose was, I'll be able to track down who made 'er in the first place."

"Well, right now it looks like it's too late to go out and be askin' questions." Heiji observed, glancing at his watch. "We probably ought to head down and get those groceries. I want you to be safe 'ere when the sun sets."

Kazuha flushed a little at that, given the touch of concern that hinted Heiji's face. "Alright." She said getting up and dusting off her pants. She paused, glancing over at Heiji. "Heiji?"

"Hm?" He blinked, looking at her curiously.

"What are you going to do if you find her?" Kazuha asked.

A grim, pained expression crossed her boyfriend's face then, and Kazuha quickly wished she hadn't asked. "What needs to be done."

* * *

"Kazuha, ya think this is everythin'?" Heiji asked her, glancing down at their shopping basket. The grocery store that Heiji had spotted had turned out to be a small shopping outpost for campers. It turned out that they had a lot of household odds and ends, as well as various amounts of food, but Heiji was somewhat worried that they didn't seem to have much in the way of things with which to make proper meals. Was there another grocery store further down that they could go back to tomorrow, he wondered.

"For now, at least." Kazuha said, taking the basket from him. She went up to pay for it herself, and though Heiji protested, trying to get her to let him do it for him, she pointed out that pretty much all of it was for her anyways. He'd relented after that. "Still, this place sure is deserted. Is it always like this?" She asked the cashier.

The man working there looked a bit nervous, glancing between Kazuha and Heiji. "No, not really. We've just sort of had a slow couple of weeks, recently."

_'Cause ya got a feral runnin' around after all. _Heiji thought to himself. "Ya mean cause of the rumors?" He asked.

"Ah, yes." The man said, glancing nervously over at Heiji. Briefly, the vampire detective wondered if this man had noticed something, but brushed it off as probably just not being comfortable with this line of questioning. Maybe he thought he would lose business if the customers that did come learned about it.

"I see." Kazuha said, paying and taking her purchases as the man bagged them. "That probably would make business difficult, right, Heiji?" She asked, glancing back at him, then blinking. He had that distant look on his face again, the one he wore when he heard something that nobody else could. "What is it?"

"No, it's just there's a familiar noise..." He trailed off, frowning a little. Kazuha could now hear the sound of a car as well, and she definitely heard Heiji as he muttered underneath his breath. "Oi, you have got to be kiddin' me." He frowned, before strolling out of the store. In a rush to follow behind him, Kazuha thanked the cashier, before darting out after Heiji, seeing what it was that had bothered him.

"Ah, isn't that the car that belongs to that professor who hangs around Conan-kun and his friends?" Kazuha asked, recognizing the old yellow beetle as it came up the road.

"That's right." Heiji said, rubbing his head, looking as if a mild headache was coming on. "Which probably means the idiots are for campin' or somethin'. What lousy timin'."

"We can't let them camp out when that feral vampire is around!" Kazuha wide-eyed, turned towards Heiji.

"I know, I know." Heiji said, looking a bit annoyed. _Really. Those brats are one thing, but what the hell is Kudo thinkin'? Did he not hear about the news from this place?_

As the yellow beetle pulled into the parking lot, Heiji could hear it as he and Kazuha were spotted by the passengers in the car. Through the car window, he locked gazes with Conan, who looked more than a little surprised to see him here. A vague look of worry came across his face, which dulled a little bit as he spotted Kazuha, perhaps wondering if the two had come to the mountains for a weekend getaway together. His thoughts clearly took him somewhere then that a normal kid wouldn't be thinking of, given the red color that appeared on his cheeks.

"Ah, it's Heiji-niichan!" Conan called out upon exiting the car, cute child mask on at full force. "What a coincidence!" He said, running up to him.

Kazuha found herself smiling a little in spite of herself, recalling that Heiji had told her that Conan had discovered his secret by accident on that first night he had returned to the lodge. To see that he still seem excited to see him in spite of that warmed her heart a little bit. Of course, she also wondered exactly how much a first grader could understand about the situation, but she reasoned that Conan was a pretty smart kid, so he probably at least understood a little bit. "It really is, Conan-kun!" She said, kneeling down to ruffle his hair. "Are you and your friends here camping?"

"That's right, Kazuha-neechan!" Conan said, glancing briefly over at Heiji, quirking an eyebrow as he did so. "Are you and Heiji-niichan camping too?"

"No, actually..." Kazuha trailed off, glancing over at her boyfriend.

"It's a case, a case." Heiji said. "I'm surprised ya haven't heard about it yet, Ku-ku-Conan-kun." He frowned a little, giving the shrunken detective a serious look.

Heiji, Kazuha, and Conan were now joined by Professor Agasa, and the rest of the Detective Boys, who seemed excited at the prospect of a case. Heiji grimaced a little, quickly realizing that they would want to stick their noses into it. It would be better to send them on home, but he wasn't sure he could do that without raising some suspicious flags. Sure enough, upon overhearing Heiji, the Detective Boys brightened.

"A case?" Mitsuhiko asked.

"What kind of a case?" Ayumi inquired.

"Well, the details are a little..." Heiji said, scratching his head. "Too much fer children."

"That's right." Kazuha chimed in, then smiled brightly at them. "It's a little bit too dangerous for camping right now, but how would you guys like to come stay where Heiji and I are?"

"We wouldn't be interrupting anything, would we?" Came a cool observation from Ai, which caused the newly made couple to turn bright red, quickly protesting that they wouldn't be.

"Too dangerous for camping?" Agasa asked, a serious look on his face. "Then, perhaps we should turn back instead..."

"No, it's already startin' ta get dark." Heiji observed, glancing up towards the sky. The sun was starting to set now. There was no guarantee that the feral vampire wouldn't attempt to attack someone riding in a car, after all, and Heiji wasn't sure they would safely get out of it's range by sunset.

"That's right, we already came all this way!" Ayumi protested, a little more forceful than usual. She blushed a little when all eyes turned on her, and shuffled her feet. "I mean, it seems like a waste..."

"You can all spend the night at our place." Heiji told them, grinning a little. "It's pretty safe there, and you can head on home in the morning."

Agasa considered this. "Well, if it's not too much trouble."

"Not at all! We have a lot of space, after all." Kazuha assured them. "Wait until you see this place!" She told the Detective Boys, looking excited. "It's huge!"

"If ya got some shoppin' ta do, I suggest ya hurry up with it though, a little." Heiji said, jerking a finger towards the store. Upon the looks that got him, he laughed a little. "'Cause ya know, we got some frozens, can't be 'ere forever." He said after a moment. That seemed to satisfy everyone, except for Conan, who stayed behind after everyone else scurried inside. Agasa had offered Kazuha some trunk space for their own groceries, which she had accepted, and had left to put them in the trunk of his car.

That left Heiji and Conan alone together, for the moment. "Oi, Hattori." The shrunken detective said, glancing over at him. "Exactly what kind of case is this?"

"One from Mitsuta-han." Heiji told him, glancing down. "Sorry, Kudo. I ain't sure this is the sort of case ya should be involvin' yerself in."

"And yet, you brought _Kazuha." _Conan pointed out.

"She brought herself." Heiji corrected him. "I'm serious, Kudo. I don't know if ya remember it half the time, but ya got the body of a shrimpy lil kid right now. This case involves things that ain't human."

Conan grimaced a little at that. He'd honestly been trying to convince himself that the events from a month ago had been a strange dream, and considering he hadn't seen Heiji since then, he had been doing a pretty good job of it. Of course, now that they had met again, Conan could still see his sharpened canines, and the vampire aura concealing ear cuffs glinting in the setting sun, reminding him that it was not a dream. That, and the rather conspicuous bandage on Kazuha's throat helped.

Conan let out an annoyed sigh. "Fine. But it's more for them, than for me. I want to hear about it at least, though." He said, referring to the Detective Boys. "Speaking of things that aren't human, can I ask what's with Kazuha's bandage?"

"Yesterday's dinner?" Heiji offered, sounding a bit sheepish.

"Seriously, Hattori?" Conan looked at him, eyes narrowing. "You take... blood from your girlfriend?" He paused then. "Good for you, by the way, about the girlfriend thing." He added after a moment.

"She offers it!" Heiji protested. "What am I supposed to do, say no? It's not like I'm usin' 'er as my personal blood bank, Kudo. Gimme a break here. Ya know what tryin' to abstain from it does to yer head?" He asked him. "Not good things, Kudo. Tryin' to stay human here, at least in spirit. Ah, but thanks."

"I guess." Conan frowned. "Sorry, Hattori. I try, but I still don't really understand it. I'm sort of trying not to understand it." He admitted sheepishly. "After all, if there are vampires, what other kind of things have been real that I've laughed off?"

"You'd be surprised." Heiji told him.

* * *

They had all managed to arrive back at the mansion all in one piece, though it had been a bit of a bumpy ride for those inside of Agasa's car once they had gone off road. Heiji was just happy to see that they had gotten home before sunset. Kazuha was showing off the front of the mansion to the excited Detective Boys, as Heiji closed the iron gate behind them again, laughing a little as he watched them dash inside in a hurry, Kazuha darting behind them to make sure they didn't break anything.

"Well, I guess it's fine for a night." He reasoned, heading into the mansion himself. "Okay!" He called out, gaining the attention of everyone. "The first two rooms upstairs are occupied by Kazuha an' me. Pick out any of the others fer yer own." The Detective Boys responded in unison, darting upstairs. Heiji could hear Mitsuhiko and Genta argue about who was going to sleep in the room next to Ayumi's, and chuckled to himself, shaking his head as he headed into the kitchen to check up on Kazuha.

"Ya got everythin' goin in here?" He asked her, coming in and wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

Kazuha flushed a little at this action. "Stop it, Heiji. There are kids here." She said, glancing over at Ai and Conan, who had helped Agasa bring in the groceries, unwitting to the fact that they were all the same age. "But yes, we do. It's a good thing Agasa brought some meat with them to barbecue. Everything in the kitchen seems to be in working order too, just needs a bit of a cleaning before we use it." Turning back towards Ai and Conan, she smiled at them. "Tell everyone dinner should be ready in an hour."

"Okay!" Conan said, cute child mask firmly back in place. It slipped a little as Ai left to secure a room for herself, muttering underneath her breath about how dusty this place was. She seemed to be more pleased with this than camping, however.

"Heiji-niichan, what are you going to do for dinner?" Conan asked, once he was sure no one else was in ear shot.

"Ah, don't worry, kiddo. I'll be fine." Heiji assured him. "I've got some things stored up in my room."

"So you found out too, Conan-kun?" Kazuha asked, glancing briefly over at him as she scrubbed off some of the pots and pans. "You really are a good boy, but don't tell any of your friends, okay?"

"Okay, Kazuha-neechan! I won't tell!" Conan said, shooting Heiji a look, silently warning him not to do anything to freak out the Detective Boys either. "Are you going to join us for dinner, Heiji-niichan?"

Heiji grimaced a little. "I'll pass." He said after a moment. He didn't want to find out of the plumbing in this place could handle vomit first hand. "Ya got everythin' handled in here then, Kazuha?"

"Pretty much. Conan-kun, would you like to help?" Kazuha asked, turning to look at him.

"Ah, it would be better to ask Ayumi-chan or Haibara." The shrunken detective said with a small laugh. Cooking was not exactly something he had any skill at. "I'm going to go up to Heiji-niichan's room, if that's okay!" He said, giving his friend a look reminding him that he still wanted to _hear _about the case.

"Ah, that's fine." Heiji said. "Come on, Conan-kun."

* * *

"As horrible as that all sounds," Conan began, after Heiji had disclosed to him information about the case. The Osakan vampire had been right earlier- he wasn't exactly joking when he had told him that it wasn't a normal case. Still, Conan hadn't been quite prepared for the full force of the supernatural coming down in his face so to speak. Exactly what kinds of things had Heiji been getting himself involved in these days, he couldn't help but wonder. It felt strangely as if Heiji had entered into some kind of world in which Conan couldn't follow him. "...I don't really understand why you have to tell me all this while _you are pacing on the ceiling."_

"Ah, it helps me think!" Heiji said with a laugh, looking down at Conan. "Why, does it bother ya, Kudo~?" He asked, teasing him.

"Well, sort of?" Conan said, looking up at his friend. Vaguely, he was reminded of Kaito Kid's teleportation magic, and the time that he had stopped the trick so that it appeared that Kaito Kid had been standing on the side of the building. That, there was a trick to, and though he'd found a part of his brain trying to sort through possible ways this trick could be accomplished, this had been no trick. This had been his Osakan friend casually pacing back and forth in his room, until he decided the floor was no good for him anymore, and started to casually walk up the wall as if it was something he had been doing all his life. "I mean it's only like you're spitting in the face of gravity, Hattori. Do you _always _do your thinking on the ceiling these days?"

Conan vaguely felt himself hoping that Kaito Kid never became a vampire. That would be a _nightmare_.

"Well, not always." Heiji said, proceeding to sit down on said ceiling, apparently either not bothered by the blood rushing to his head, or not having blood rushing to his head in the first place. "Just when I'm alone, mostly. Can ya imagine the face of anyone who came in an' found someone on their ceilin'?" He asked him, grinning widely. "_I _think it's pretty neat."

Conan merely heaved a sigh, defeated. Apparently, there was no cure for Heiji's personality. "Alright. Then, what about this person supposedly controlling this... this feral's reigns?"

"Well, as far as I can guess from this point, it's most likely someone who was behind turnin' poor Takamura-han." Heiji reasoned. "So lookin' fer some kind of occultist- or several, as the case may be. Of course, there are other possibilities that need to be checked as well, and I still need to look over the scenes of the crimes and talk ta the victim's family and friends."

"Hmph. So in the end, an off the record investigation starts like any other." Conan smirked, feeling a bit more at home with that. That, he could handle.

"Right, right. But, Kudo, you an' yer friends are goin' home tomorrow." Heiji reminded him, glaring at him from the ceiling. "It's too dangerous fer all of ya. How am I supposed ta know if one of those kids decides to sneak out, or invites some suspicious person inside?"

"Well, that's true." Conan frowned. "Still, I don't like it. There's a mystery in front of me, and you're telling me I'm not allowed to solve it?"

"Sorry, Kudo." Heiji apologized, putting his hands together in front of him. "If it were another case, I'd 'ave loved ta have you around. Like the one from the other week with the werewolf family."

"_Wait." _Conan said, cutting Heiji off, glaring up at him. "You mean to tell me that werewolves are real too?"

"That's right." Heiji said, an annoyed expression growing on his face. "Man, that one was a huge pain!" He told him, eyebrow twitching from just remembering. "Every step of the way, it was all with the vampires are the mortal enemies of werewolves an' what is this vampire whelp think 'es doin' 'ere, an' what the hell is he doin' in our territory and Kudo- lemme tell you, werewolves are a _pain in the ass. _They need ta get their own damn detective. I was about ready to throttle the lot of 'em at the end of the case._"_

"Just great." Conan moaned as Heiji dropped down off the ceiling, doing a small mid-air flip, turning over and landing neatly on his feet. Just then, there was a knock on the door, and Ayumi poked her head in.

"Conan-kun, Heiji-niichan, it's dinner time!" She told them brightly.

"Ah, I'll be right down!" Conan said, getting off of Heiji's bed. "Heiji-niichan says his stomach is feeling a bit upset, so he'll eat later." He lied, glancing over at his friend, who waved at Ayumi.

"Is that so..." Ayumi said, looking a bit disappointed. "We were hoping that Heiji-niichan could come talk to us about his recent cases..."

"Ah, sorry about that." Heiji apologized. "Maybe after dinner?"

"Well, if you say so!" Ayumi cheered up at that, reaching out to take Conan's hand. "Come on, let's eat then! Kazuha-neechan and I made some _really _good food."

Heiji watched them go, heaving a sigh as he shut the door behind him. Glancing over towards the locked cooler he had brought with him, he sighed again. "Yay, blood~" He mumbled to himself, strolling over towards it and unlocking it with a key. "Tch, I wanted some of Kazuha's cookin' too. Unfair."

* * *

It was late at night when Heiji exited the mansion. He had come down to talk with everyone a bit after dinner, as promised. Telling the Detective Boys about some of his less... supernatural exploits was pretty fun, he admitted, it was nice to be praised so joyously sometimes. Meanwhile, he'd heard from Kazuha another rumor she'd heard about this area, though this one far more pleasant than the feral vampire case. Something about a magic flower that grows under the full moon that was said to grant you your true love or something. Heiji hadn't really been paying attention.

He'd paused at the door, stopping briefly to listen to the quiet breathing of the people sleeping inside. Standing in front of the door, he pulled a talisman that Mitsuta had sent to him upon request, wincing a little as he could feel it burning underneath the bike gloves he'd worn just for the purpose of holding the damn thing. Applying it to the back of the front door, he jerked back a little when he felt the shock of it coming to life, waving his hand in pain. Well, with that, even if someone got into the house who wasn't supposed to, then the feral couldn't come in with it.

Of course, Heiji wouldn't be able to get back in either, and wondered how mad Kazuha would be at being woken up at the crack of dawn to take it off and let him in. Not as mad as she would have been to learn he'd gone off in the middle of the night to try and find the feral.

Turning his gaze out into the darkness, his vision automatically adjusted itself, as if he was looking around in the daytime. Despite the fact that he was mostly alright with sunlight, Heiji still found himself preferring the night these days, where he found himself more at home. Strolling over towards the walls surrounding the mansion, Heiji neatly leapt on top of them, before jumping back down on the ground below. "Right then." Heiji grinned to himself, walking up the side of a tree, and perched on a higher branch.

Closing his eyes, Heiji trained his ears, trying to find any sounds out of the ordinary. He smiled a little as he heard the sounds of breathing and heartbeats from the mansion, but quickly focused his thoughts elsewhere. He heard the sounds of various nocturnal animals rustling about, leaves blowing in the wind, and the sound of the iron gate creaking open.

...Wait.

Back up.

Swearing under his breath, Heiji looked back towards the mansion. The darkness below him had been lit up slightly by the glow of a flashlight, and the sounds of someone's light footsteps could be heard. Down below him, he made out the form of Ayumi, who had gotten herself dressed again, and was carrying with her what looked to be a few scraps of paper. Tilting his head, Heiji made out the shape of a silver flower on them and groaned, suddenly recalling that _Ayumi _had been the one Kazuha had heard the rumor from.

And he recalled that Ayumi had an apparent crush on Conan.

And that she apparently thought he was either interested in that Haibara girl (wrong, Heiji thought, though he didn't know about Haibara herself), or Ran (which was right). It wasn't very hard to put two and two together, especially as a glance upwards indicated that yes, tonight was indeed a full moon. Recalling her brief outburst from earlier in the day, it wasn't hard to figure out that Ayumi had convinced the Professor to take their next camping trip out here in order to obtain the flower in question. She had probably planned this all along.

"I said it, didn't I, Kudo?" Heiji grumbled to himself as Ayumi hurried off in one direction. Did she even have any idea where she was going? Well, although they were kids, the Detective Boys weren't _entirely _stupid, so he assumed she at least had some small idea of what she was doing. Perhaps if the situation had been different, Heiji would have been more than happy to leave her to her quest, while making sure she didn't get lost, but tonight, there might be something else in this forest.

Leaping from the tree he was perched on to one next to him, he followed behind Ayumi, who had gained some distance already. She ran fast, for a little girl! He'd jump down over there and then call out to her and drag her back to the mansion and would make sure she stayed there, he thought to himself.

Then, a sound reached his ears, and Heiji felt his hair stand on end. Something was coming through the forest, fast, running on all fours from the sound of it. He could all but smell the scent of blood, it curled his nose, and it was all he could do to keep his fangs from elongating in response. The creature seemed to pause for a moment, and Heiji swore underneath his breath as he realized it must have caught wind of Ayumi's scent.

"Right. Kid, yer goin' back now." Heiji said, dropping out of the tree and landing behind Ayumi. She jumped, startled at the sudden sound of leaves crunching behind her, but seemed relived when she realized it was someone she knew.

"Heiji-niichan!" Ayumi said, blushing a little and clutching the papers close to her, as if she didn't want him to see it. "Um, I was just looking for..."

"Magic flower, right. But we gotta go now, kid." Heiji told her, ears trained as he heard the creature in the distance change it's path. It was heading for them now, making noises that no human could ever hope to reproduce. The smell of blood got stronger as it came closer, causing a dull throb in Heiji's head. Probably, another corpse would turn up tomorrow. He filed that away, and would search for it tomorrow.

"But, I really want to find it." Ayumi said, clutching the paper to her chest. "And if we're going back tomorrow, I won't have another chance to find it!"

"Now's not the time fer that!" Heiji snapped. "I'll look fer yer magic flower myself if ya want me to, but right now _we gotta move!_" He half-hissed the last words at her, then winced as he watched the small girl flinch and pale. In a subconscious motion, Heiji reached up towards his mouth, biting down the urge to swear as he realized his fangs had come out. "Argh, damnit. Sorry, Ayumi-chan." Heiji apologized, closing the distance between the two of them in an instant, scooping her up and putting her underneath his arm, clamping a hand over mouth to keep her from screaming. All but sensing the creature just moments away from them, Heiji made a quick leap up to the nearest tree, landing on the side of it some ways up.

And he saw the creature in question for the first time. It burst onto the scene in a frenzy, eyes darting around for the source of the scent it had picked up. She had indeed, probably been pretty once. She had black hair, and pale skin. But it wasn't just the mangy and matted hair and the dirt that covered her that took away said beauty. No, it was the limbs, positioned in a way human limbs shouldn't be, longer than they should be, bones arranged strangely and skin stretched tight. Her fangs were large, powerful things, and Heiji vaguely found himself being reminded of saber tooth tigers. Her fingernails and toenails had become like long claws, glistening black and her eyes were sunken in, and pure black.

In his arms, Ayumi let out a whimper, clearly now more scared of this thing on the ground that the other vampire currently holding her, tears forming in her eyes. "Sorry, Ayumi-chan, sssh." Heiji tried to reassure her, not doing a very good at it. It was the fangs wasn't it? Of course it was. He would have to hypnotize her later, make her forget all of this. There was no way he could let a little girl have a memory of this... thing, he thought. Way too traumatizing. "I don't think that thing can climb trees." He paused, frowning a little as what once was Takamura Megumi directly glanced up at them. "...Probably."

Ayumi squirmed in his arms, eyes darting up towards Heiji's face. In the back of his mind, Heiji recalled that Conan had mentioned once that Ayumi had watched vampire movies (the Dracula kind) before, some of them most likely not entirely meant for children. "It's okay, I'm not gonna hurt ya either. I'm still Heiji-niichan, ya know." He tried to reassure her, and although she stopped squirming, she didn't exactly look any less terrified. "...and no, apparently the thing _can _climb trees." He observed as he glanced back down, to find the feral vampire slowly making it's way up the tree, using it's long claw-like nails to make progress.

The feral vampire let out a loud sound, that sounded like a strange hiss, almost like a snake, but far louder. It sounded almost like a challenge, and Heiji realized that it must have recognized him as another vampire, and assumed that Ayumi was supposed to be his 'meal'. Suppressing a shudder at the thought and trying not to think too hard about it, he realized it must have been challenging him for it. Pulling the shaking little girl closer to him, turning her so that she couldn't see anything but his chest, Heiji glared down at the feral vampire. "Sorry, Ayumi-chan." He apologized again. He wasn't really good with children, was he? "I know it's super scary right now, but it's okay. I'm gonna see if I can chase this thing away, alright? Then we're gonna go back to where everyone else is, an' you'll be safe, okay?"

The girl managed to give him a small nod, and that would have to do. Baring his fangs at the feral vampire, he sent back the challenging look. It hissed at him again, and Heiji found himself making a similar hissing sound back at it (and making a mental note to never tell anyone he could make that sound that _ever_). The exchange went on for what seemed like forever, but in reality was probably just a minute or so. Eventually the feral vampire slunk back down to the base of the tree, and retreated into the night.

Heiji didn't relax until it was well out of the range of his senses, and shaking a bit, he forced his fangs to retract back. Checking on Ayumi, he noticed quickly that she must have passed out. Not that he could blame her. That would have been too much for a lot of little kids, even ones that had a slightly disturbing tendency to trip over bodies on a regular basis. Shifting her a bit in his arms so that she would be more comfortable, Heiji made his way back to the mansion through the trees. Jumping over the iron gate, Heiji absently reached for the main door, only to receive a burning sensation that caused him to snatch his hand back.

"Right. Talisman."

Kazuha was going to be super pissed at being woken up after all.


	7. Of Occultists and Magic Flowers

Author's Note: Chapter Seven! I don't really have much to say here, I guess. Detective Conan and it's characters don't belong to me, although Mitsuta, Ayumu, Ayame, and the former Takamura Megumi do.

Please enjoy!

* * *

Blood and Snow

Chapter Seven: Of Occultists and Magic Flowers

"Exactly what did you think you were doing, Heiji?" Kazuha asked in a low voice. She had been suddenly awakened by the sound of someone throwing a rock on the outside of her bedroom window, and after taking a moment to realize where she was, she had realized that the person outside of her room was Heiji. Still half asleep when she opened the door, she stared in a state of drowsiness induced befuddlement at her boyfriend standing outside in the middle of the night, carrying an unconscious Ayumi. She had gathered together enough of her senses to make out the story that Heiji was telling her, and had grumbled, tearing off the talisman that kept her idiot boyfriend outside, and they moved on to Kazuha's room.

Heiji had left briefly while Kazuha took care of Ayumi, checking her out for any scrapes and bruises, of which there were thankfully little, and had taken off her shoes and tucked her into her bed for the time being. She hadn't been able to remove the papers with the drawing of the supposed magic flower on them from her tightly fisted hands, so she had left them be.

Heiji had returned a little while later, looking a bit more like himself than when she'd found him at the door, more calm than before, and had explained the story over again.

Well, he was right about Kazuha being angry.

"The next time you decide to make late night quests out into the forest looking for murderous monsters, I suggest you run it by me first." Kazuha said, her lips twisted into a tight frown. "And? What exactly was this feral like?" She asked after a moment. They had pulled over two chairs to the window, where they could talk without rousing Ayumi, and could keep an eye on her. Every so often she twitched and stirred in a way that Kazuha didn't quite like, and she worried that she was having a nightmare.

"Well, it's not exactly like I planned on the kid bein' there." Heiji pointed out, glancing over at Ayumi. "I had a feelin' somethin' bad was gonna happen the moment I heard that damn car." With a sigh, he leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes, willing a vision of what had once been Takamura Megumi to his eyes. It wasn't hard, it was a hard thing to forget. "All twisted an' wrong." He told her with a frown. "It was on all fours, bones shaped and stretched out strangely. Huge fangs," he used his hands here for emphasis, and Kazuha winced a little, "Ya could see where it used ta be human, kinda, but not much left of that."

"Poor girl." Kazuha mused, expression taking on a tint of sadness. "That doesn't sound like the sort of thing anyone deserves to have happen to them."

"Ah, I agree." Heiji nodded. "It felt more like a animal, really. Wild an' well... feral." He let out a small, bitter laugh at that. "I guess I can see where they got the name from now. It pisses me off, though." His expression darkened, anger having been roused inside of him. "Hearin' about it was one thing, but actually seein' what 'ad been done to 'er is another. I saw the pictures of 'er from 'afore, an' there ain't nothin' left of that pretty girl. What do those bastards think their messin' with, exactly?"

"It's no use getting angry right now, Heiji." Kazuha told him, standing up and closing the distance between them. She leaned down, planting a soft kiss on his forehead. "But I can understand how you feel. It makes me angry as well. I think it would make anyone angry." She paused then, looking over her longtime companion, placing her hands on his shoulders. "Don't let that get the better of you, though, Heiji. Remember, you need them to face justice, not revenge."

"Ah, I know, Kazuha." Heiji looked up at her. "Ferret 'em out, pin 'em for kidnappin', watch them be carted away by the police." He frowned a little then, as if mulling something over. "I guess I'll hafta figure out somethin' about Takamura-han's whereabouts though. I guess I could turn over the feral to the police, but," he laughed a little, sounding nervous. "I think that might start up a witch hunt or somethin', so I should probably think of somethin' else. I could get drugs as any explanation for the behavior, but the overall appearance? No way, forget about it."

"That's true." Kazuha frowned, taking a seat in Heiji's lap. Despite the seriousness of the conversation, he still turned bright red, before dispelling it with a cough. "I'm sure you'll think of something. I can help, if you need me to." She said, smiling at him. He did have a point- if the general public discovered the existence of vampires- especially through ones such as the feral, it'd be a disaster. There'd be a huge panic, and she couldn't help but imagine that the witch hunt in question might extend throughout the entire country. She didn't know if she could keep Heiji safe then. She laughed a little at herself for thinking that she was the one keeping Heiji safe, but it was true, somewhat. There was no way that any bad people were going to touch him while she was around. They'd have to do so over her dead body.

So lost in her thoughts, Kazuha barely even heard the door to her room creak open. Heiji did however, turning a bright shade of red as he saw who it was, and then quickly realizing who he had in his lap- and then who was in his bed. Conan, though still rather drowsy, quickly took one look at Heiji and Kazuha, the latter in the lap of the former, then took note of the fact that Ayumi was in her normal clothes in Kazuha's bed, apparently asleep.

"...Is this a situation I really even _want _to ask about?" Conan inquired, turning his gaze back towards Heiji.

"Ah, well." Heiji laughed a little as Kazuha quickly jumped off his lap, both sporting a matching blush. "K-Kazuha, why don't ya take Ayumi-chan to her room an' stay with her there in case she needs ya?"

"R-Right!" Kazuha stammered out, moving a bit roboticly as she carefully scooped up Ayumi, face still beet red as she ducked past Conan without looking for him, heading for the room Ayumi had picked out. Didn't anyone they knew know how to knock?

"Hattori. Why was Ayumi in Kazuha's room?" Conan asked, crossing his arms and looking at his friend, seemingly displeased. "I'll refrain from asking exactly what the two of you were doing."

"Well, that's..." Heiji chuckled a little, getting up from his chair and heading towards the not child. "What exactly are ya doin' up anyways, Kudo?"

"This room is right next to mine. I kept hearing the door opening and shutting so I thought something was going on." Conan observed, arching an eyebrow. "Looks like I was right on the mark, too. So?"

"I went out ta see if I could gather some information outside." Heiji began, closing the door to Kazuha's room. "See if I could track down the feral in question. Seems yer little friend here had a similar idea about the other local rumor." He told him.

"Another local rumor... ah, the flower?" Conan asked, then apparently flushed a little as he quickly recalled the contents of the legend in question, and exactly _who _Ayumi wanted it for. Covering it with a cough, he turned away from Heiji's leering grin. "I see. So you met up with her and brought her back here because it wasn't safe?"

"Not _exactly_." Heiji told him. "'Course I went ta stop her and bring her back in, but by that time somethin' else in the forest had caught a scent of her."

"The feral." Conan guessed.

"Bingo." Heiji said. "Those things are fast runners, did ya know that? It was there in a heartbeat, almost." He was exaggerating a little, but that was how it had seemed at the time. Heiji had thought that his increased speed had allowed him to move fast, but the feral's speed was something else entirely. "So, I kinda panicked a little, and Ayumi-chan might have seen some things she wasn't supposed to..."

"I swear, Hattori, you are the _worst _at keeping secrets." Conan observed, rolling his eyes. "And? What then? She seems to be in one piece for the most part, so I guess I have you to thank for that."

Looking away from his friend's unchildlike gaze for a moment, Heiji frowned, his expression momentarily becoming unreadable. "Well, of course I wasn't gonna let it get to yer friend." He began. "So I went up a tree real quick. Apparently they can climb trees though. I think it could tell on some level that I was, ah, also a vampire, so it seemed to view Ayumi-chan as uh... my meal?"

Conan grimaced a little. An unpleasant thought. "And, did it just run off after that?" He asked him.

"Right. I guess it decided it couldn't take me." Heiji laughed nervously, still not meeting the eyes of his rival turned friend. Conan got the feeling that there was a part of the story that Heiji wasn't telling him, but he decided not to push it. He got the impression that his friend wasn't quite comfortable with talking about his current condition with people other than Kazuha yet, and to be honest, the less Conan heard about it, the better for his sanity.

"I see. So, I'm guessing Ayumi passed out because she was too scared." Conan frowned. "What are you going to do about that, Hattori?"

"Don't worry, I'll make sure she doesn't remember a thing. Good ol' hypnotism." Heiji assured him. "Well, that feral vampire was somethin' else though. I don't know exactly what it was that I was expectin' but I was quite prepared for what I found." He frowned deeply, appearing troubled. "I don't know if I mentioned this to ya, Kudo, but those ferals are supposed ta be more close to what vampires started out as bein'. It... sort of makes me uncomfortable ta know we're in the same family group. Kinda like if ya suddenly find out your old man is a serial killer or somethin'."

"No, I didn't know that." Conan admitted, looking up at Heiji in mild surprise. Heiji might be the only vampire he knew (and he prayed that it stayed that way), but for all intents and purposes, he seemed like pretty much the same person he was from before he was turned. He'd sort of found himself assuming that having people maintain their personalities through the transformation was a given, but to learn that it hadn't always been that way was a bit shocking to him. He sat down then, listening to Heiji describe the feral to him, in a good bit more detail to him than he had Kazuha, and took all this information in. From the sounds of the rather vivid description Heiji gave of the former Takamura Megumi, it really did sound like a monster straight out of a horror story.

He could sort of understand why Heiji didn't want to be associated with it.

"Hard ta imagine such a cute girl got turned into that." Heiji finished, taking a seat again. "From the smell of 'er, seems like she got another victim tonight, before I came outside. I'll search fer the body as soon as Ayumi wakes up an' I erase the poor girl memories, but I imagine it's not gonna be pleasant. It freaked me out, Kudo, so I can imagine it'd disturb someone like Ayumi-chan deeply."

"Sounds to me like it bothered you for reasons other than it's appearance." Conan observed, turning that sharp detective's gaze on Heiji. He faltered a little underneath it- he hated being on the receiving end of that look, he decided, then sighed, shoulders slumping.

"Well... yeah." Heiji admitted. "I haven't told Kazuha about this yet, cause I kinda don't want her to know. I put on a good face fer her ya know?" He said, a grin appearing on his face to emphasize the point, then disappearing as quickly as it had come. "It's not really all that hard most of the time. I still feel like me, ya know? But other times." He lifted up his hands, shrugging his shoulders helplessly. "It's tough, Kudo. I'd like ta wake up and find out this has all been a long dream, but I guess I gotta accept it as the new reality. Ya got no idea what it's like to try an' deal with bein' somethin' that a lot of people think is a monster."

"Well, most people don't know the truth." Conan pointed out. "Hell, Hattori, _we _didn't until a month ago." He suppressed his urge to tell his friend that he 'shouldn't let it get to him', knowing those might not be the best words for the situation. He didn't want to sound as if he was somehow trivializing Heiji's problems. Somehow, his own problem of dealing with being shrunken were now paling in comparison. At least he was still human, right? Heiji, on the other hand, had become something else entirely.

And he would have to live with it for a very, _very _long time.

"That's just _it_, Kudo." Heiji said, meeting his gaze. "There's the truth we know now, but the reality was much different when vampires first came about. They really _were _monsters back then. Seein' that out there reminded me about that in ways I didn't want it to. An' I know I ain't got much chance of becomin' _that, _but the thought is still there in my head now an' it ain't gonna go away so easy."

"You want to talk about it?" Conan asked him.

"Well, maybe a little." Heiji stood up, starting to pace a little as he talked. "Did ya know that vampires were man made, Kudo?" He asked him, looking over to see his shrunken friend shake his head. "Neither did I, at first. Mitsuta-han told me the whole story a few weeks ago when she had dropped by in Osaka fer awhile. Somethin' about lookin' for some elusive charm maker, needed my help, an'..." He waved a hand. "No, no, gettin' off topic there. I'll tell ya about _that _case later."

"Well, the first vampires were creatures born outta alchemy. A really long time ago, nobody's really sure as ta when." Heiji explained to him, giving Conan a look when his friend quirked a skeptical eyebrow at the mention of alchemy. "Started out with a handful of alchemists, creatin' what amounted to human weapons, I guess. They took people, usually young men, an' turned 'em into these mindless, vicious creatures an' bound 'em to their will. That's why feral vampires are closer to the first vampires, because they're created based off attempts at recreatin' those rituals and experiments. Of course, all those records were destroyed, but not until the whole vampire makin' craze got out of hand. Every so often they'd wind up with one that kept part of their consciousness or the alchemist's wanted somethin' a bit smarter and safer so they mixed things up a bit, but..."

"They ended up taking on a life of their own?" Conan offered.

"Yeah, that's exactly it!" Heiji declared, pausing to point at his friend. "Alchemists started ta lose control of what they had made an' they started rapidly changin' from what they'd started as." He told him. "Through years and years of evolution, they ended up becomin' as they are right now, more like me, I guess. Well, since they were born outta humans at first, that's why humans can still be turned into vampires through certain methods. Not everyone can be turned though, as it turns out... I got pretty lucky, I guess. Coulda flat out died instead."

"What a morbid history." Conan mumbled, considering the information, only vaguely acknowledging the fact that his friend had made his way halfway up the wall while he was talking to him. "I see. You're worried about having that in your..." Conan frowned, trying to find a better word for it than the one he had at first thought of, but gave it up. "...blood?"

"So ta speak, yeah." Heiji nodded. "Well, it's not like it's some all consumin' worry or somethin', it's just sorta there in the back of my head. And well..." He frowned a little, an uncharacteristic look of uneasiness crossing his face. "Sometimes I run into people who can _tell_, Kudo. An' they don't always take it well." He admitted to him, rubbing the back of his neck. "I haven't told Kazuha 'bout this either."

"Tell? How?" Conan inquired.

"I don't really know. Some kinda sixth sense, maybe?" Heiji shrugged. "The worst of it had ta happen at the police station. You heard about the bombin' thing, right? From the amusement park?" He asked, and when Conan nodded, he continued. "Was in there given' my testimony of the events that had happened a few days afterwards. Normal police procedure and all that, nothin' ta worry about really." He _didn't_ mention that he had taken the opportunity to convince Otaki that nothing strange at all had happened that day. He wasn't sure what Kudo would think of him even mildly manipulating people for his own benefit with his hypnotism. "It was when I was about to leave that the problem started."

"There was some old lady there, I don't know what fer, really. _Real _old granny, too, from the looks of it. I was just headin' out towards the door with Otaki-han when she spotted me and just started screamin' an' hollerin', screamin' about how the police were bein' fools an' that they'd let a horrible monster into the police station, an' just pointin' at me the whole time while she was doin' it too." He didn't like thinking about it really, and liked talking about it even less. "I swear, Kudo, she was about ta storm over, cross in hand an' everythin' 'afore the police restrained her. It was all I could do to not lose my cool then and there. Kinda wanted ta just sink into the ground. Ya ever had a crinkly old granny screamin' at you, Kudo? It's surprisingly intimidatin'."

"No, but that sounds like an experience I could do _without_." Conan admitted.

"I'll say." Heiji rolled his eyes. He was just glad his father hadn't been there at the time. "That was the worst of 'em, granted, but there were others like that too. 'Course they were all in _public_. An you know, I'm not _exactly _the most unrecognizable of folk either. No, on second thought, it might not be the worst of 'em- only saw that granny once. There's a junior in the kendo club who refuses to go anywhere _near _me an' quit the club a few days after I returned to school. Then he just up an' _transferred schools_, Kudo a few days after that. An' we used ta be on such good terms 'afore that." He frowned. "Am I really that scary?"

"Of course not!" Conan protested. "Hattori, you're the same as you ever were. You know, except for that nasty habit of walking on walls when you think you're starting to get. You aren't scary." He reassured him. "I've met scary, Hattori. The Black Organization can be as scary as hell sometimes, Ran when she's super pissed is... _another _kind of scary, and you aren't either of those things."

"Thanks, Kudo." Heiji said, seeming a bit reassured upon hearing his words. Conan seemed to note that he apparently hadn't noticed that he'd walked up the bedroom wall before he pointed it out to him, and he made his way down from it. "I mean, it's not like I think I'm a monster or anythin', but..." He frowned. "It's pretty hard not to believe it a little when people are screamin' it in your face."

"Well, I guess that's true." Conan admitted, considering it. If he had been in Heiji's shoes, he probably would have been feeling more or less the same way. He yawned a little then, rubbing some sleep out of his eyes.

"Ah, ya should probably get back ta bed, Kudo." Heiji grinned a little, as he approached him, reaching over to ruffle his hair. "Ya got the body of a lil kid at the moment, ya shouldn't be up so late. Kazuha an' I will take care of Ayumi-chan."

Conan shot Heiji a look, but after yawning again, he decided that bed... sounded good, actually. "Alright. Make sure to erase those memories. She doesn't need that kind of image in her head." He told Heiji, before leaving.

"Your wish is my command, Kudo." Heiji told him, giving his friend a mock bow, and flashing him a grin as he left. Conan couldn't help but roll his eyes, but was glad to see his friend had recovered somewhat. It was... kind of eerie seeing Heiji like that. He didn't like it, he decided, didn't like it one bit.

* * *

"And I still don't know why I fell asleep wearing my clothes." Ayumi went on to say, talking to Ai at the breakfast table. Heiji had forced himself to join them for the sake of normalcy, and was now apprehensively staring at a plate of scrambled eggs, as if trying to prepare himself for the illness that would occur shortly after eating them. "I could have sworn that I put on my pajamas before I went to bed..."

"Maybe you were so tired, you dreamed it?" Kazuha suggested to her. "I've had that happen to me before."

"Maybe." Ayumi frowned a little. "I can't help but feel like I'm forgetting something though..." Pausing to think, she put a finger to her chin, puzzling over it for a few minutes. "It feels like I had some kind of strange dream..."

"A dream is just a dream, though, right, Kazuha-neechan?" Conan chimed in.

"That's right. It's nothing you need to worry about, Ayumi-chan." The Osakan girl assured her. "Would you like some more orange juice?"

"Ah, please." The little girl extended her glass, and Kazuha happily poured some in. Ayumi had woken up in a start early in the morning, still early enough for everyone else to be asleep. True to his word, Heiji had erased her memories of the night's events, although she appeared to be more intimidated by him than he had wanted her to be during this. Kazuha had told Heiji not to let it bother him, but she was still worried it did, a little.

Of course right now, Heiji looked more like he was worried that his scrambled eggs would attack him. She chuckled a little as he resolved himself to eat them, but covered it with a small cough when people at the table looked at her a bit oddly.

Looking down at her own breakfast, Kazuha swirled her glass of orange juice in her hand before she took a sip of it. She didn't have to have Heiji tell her about his worries in order to have some idea of what they were about. She hadn't told him yet, because he was obviously trying not to tell her about it, but she had heard about the incident with the old woman. Her father had been in the station that morning, after all, and was one of the police officers who restrained the woman. He'd given an account of it to his equally puzzled wife later that evening, the two of them pondering what it could have been about Heiji that had set her off so badly. They'd apparently eventually come to the conclusion that she must have been extremely xenophobic and possibly more than a little crazy, and mistook Heiji's dark skin as being that of a foreigner, or she had mistaken Heiji for someone else entirely.

Of course, Kazuha knew about the incident with the kendo club member as well, seeing as they went to the same school. The rumors hadn't died down yet, and although she knew that Heiji tried not to listen to them, she also knew that he could hear every single whisper around him. She tried to change the subject whenever it was brought up around her, but that seemed to only result in more whispers. Things had gotten worse once the student suddenly transferred schools, and to be honest, Kazuha was starting to get fed up with it. She could only imagine how _Heiji _was feeling about it.

Kazuha was drawn out of her thoughts, however, by the sound of a loud bang from outside. She jumped straight up in fact, so startled by the sudden sound. She looked a little puzzled when the Detective Boys suddenly all let out a uniform sigh, when Professor Agasa came back into the kitchen. He had already eaten, and was warming up his car outside. The Detective Boys were planning on leaving right after breakfast, they had already packed and put their bags in his car.

At least, that was the plan.

"What do you mean, 'it won't start'?" Heiji asked him, biting back a groan at the thought that the Detective Boys would be here for longer.

"Well, exactly that I'm afraid, Hattori-kun." Agasa apologized. "I don't know if I can get it started without a mechanic."

"Are you serious?" Heiji groaned. Not only would tracking down a mechanic to fix Agasa's car take time off his investigation, it also meant that Kudo and the Detective Boys were in the line of fire for longer than he had intended. After last's night incident, this worried Heiji.

"Ah, Heiji, I could take the motorcycle and find a mechanic." Kazuha volunteered, as if reading his mind. "You were teaching me how to ride one, right? I've gotten pretty good at it, haven't I?" She reminded him. "Well, not as good as you though." She admitted after a moment.

"I could go with her." Ai offered, glancing up from a cup of coffee. "Between the two of us, I'm sure we could find a mechanic quickly." She glanced over at Agasa, her eyes narrowing. "It's the Professor's fault for keeping that old car around, after all."

Heiji hesitated, assessing the situation in his mind. True, he could walk around here easily enough and would get around fine without the motorcycle- he didn't really get tired, after all. On the other hand, he couldn't help but be worried about Kazuha. "Well, I guess." He said after a moment. "As long as you drive carefully."

"I promise." Kazuha said with a small laugh. "Ai-chan, we'll go when you're ready, okay?"

"Have a safe trip, Kazuha." Heiji told her, taking her hand and pulling her a bit towards him, before planting a kiss on her lips. He laughed a little as he heard the Detective Boys behind him letting out various noises, Ayumi cooing over how cute they were, Mitsuhiko apparently glancing over at Ai and turning a slight shade of red, as if he were imagining the two of them in the same situation.

Kazuha, face bright red, flicked Heiji on the forehead. "Idiot. There are kids around." She scolded him, though her heart didn't really seem to be in it.

"So what?" Heiji asked with a small laugh. "Well, do take care of yerself, Kazuha." He told her again, playfully kissing her a second time, before leaving the room, letting Kazuha deal with the chattering Detective Boys, who were currently bombarding them with questions about their relationship.

* * *

"You're going out to work on the investigation, aren't you, Heiji-niichan?"

Heiji winced, stopping in his tracks. He had tried leaving the mansion without attracting attention from his shrunken friend, and had apparently failed. Now that the Detective Boys weren't leaving, the vampire had a feeling about what the next question Conan asked him would be.

"Why don't you take me with you, Hattori?" Conan asked him, watching as his friend turned around to face him.

"Because I don't know if someone's shrimpy legs can keep up with me." Heiji said, grinning down at him. That got an annoyed twitch from Conan.

"I'm coming, even if that means you'll have to carry me, Heiji-niichan." Conan said stubbornly.

Heiji groaned. He had been doing a lot of that these past two days. "Alright, Kudo. Well, I guess since yer here, havin' an extra brain to bump thoughts around with would be nice." He paused. "Ya do realize that the carryin' things gonna be pretty literal right? I can kinda move _pretty _fast now an we're gonna be walkin'. Or runnin', I guess."

"If I can endure the humiliation of watching that uncle take credit for cases I've solved, I can endure pretty much anything." Conan reasoned, then slid his cute little kid mask into place. "Carry me, Heiji-niichan!" He said, reaching his arms up.

Heiji glowered at Conan for a moment, but grudgingly scooped the not child up in one arm. "Don't say I didn't warn you, Kudo." He noted, settling the shrunken detective over his shoulders. Conan held on to the top of Heiji's head as the Osakan detective left the house, closing the doors behind him and heading out the iron gate. Kazuha and Ai had left a little while ago, and she had promised to call him when they had found a mechanic. They would see about picking up more food as well.

"Are we going to look for the body first?" Conan asked Heiji, glancing down at his friend as they headed a bit away from the mansion.

"Yeah, that was the idea." Heiji nodded, retracing his steps from last night, until he located the site where he had first seen the feral vampire. Catching the scent of lingering blood, he frowned, seeming to concentrate deeply. Conan glanced down at him in mild curiosity- he of course, couldn't smell anything.

And then, almost without warning, Heiji was off. Conan swore, suddenly finding himself hanging on to his friend for dear life. Heiji had told him he could move pretty fast- but Conan hadn't quite prepared himself for this. And yet, as fast as Heiji seemed to be moving, he seemed to be skillfully avoiding trees and obstacles, heading in one specific direction. It seemed that he stopped just as suddenly as he had started, coming to a halt some ways into the forest. Off in the distance, Conan could see more signs of human civilization, it appeared that there was a section of houses built over towards the far left of them, where Conan could dimly make out a paved road leading towards the main mountain road.

That was when his attention was caught by the corpse. Biting back a swear, Conan jumped down from Heiji, walking over towards it. His friend hung back for the moment, though he was so fixated on the corpse, he barely noticed it. It appeared as if it was a male, roughly middle aged with slightly graying hair, dressed in his pajamas. And that was about all he could get from a cursory glance at the shriveled up corpse. It looked as if it had been sucked dry of everything it contained, skin sagging over bones, an expression of pure terror left behind on it's face. It's neck had been broken, rather savagely, Conan noted, and he could see the remains of two large bite wounds on what was left of the corpse's neck.

"Sure somethin' right?" Heiji asked, joining Conan. Tearing his attention away from the corpse, he watched as Heiji gulped down the contents of a small vial, before stowing it away in the fake wallet that Mitsuta had given him again. The false child made a small face, recognizing what it must have been, but said nothing about it. "Man, I can still smell the blood all around here. Let's see, let's see..."

Crouching down by the corpse, Heiji pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket, turning it a bit so they could get a better look at it's face. "Well, no chance of 'em havin' any ID on him, seein' as he looked like he was about ready fer bed." He noted. "Though I'm willin' to bet he came from that housin' complex over there. Looks like he was dragged out her by the throat by the feral vampire 'afore she stopped here and drank 'em dry."

"An unpleasant way to go." Conan grimaced, feeling sympathy for the man. "Then, I guess speaking to the people in that housing complex is our first course of action?"

"Exactly." Heiji nodded, standing up. "Looks like they haven't discovered the body yet. Well, it's a bit away from there... they might not even know to be lookin' fer this fellow yet."

Conan paused, glancing a bit warily up at Heiji. "...Any chance we can just walk normally over there?"

The grin on his friend's face made Conan instantly regret asking.

* * *

Apparently, by the time Heiji and Conan arrived at the housing complex, someone had noticed something amiss. Heiji could hear the sirens of police cars coming from awhile off, and Conan noticed them as they reached the tree outline. There looked to be a group of people all gathered outside one house, chattering away in a worried frenzy, only slightly calmed by the appearance of the police officers. The two high school detectives took a look over towards the house in question, taking notice of the shattered upper windows, and a door that looked as if it had almost been torn off the hinges, tossed halfway out into the street where it had shattered into pieces.

Conan took note that there didn't appear to be any officers that he was familiar with, and that two of them had shown up. One was a woman, with dark brown hair that was tied back in a low ponytail, and the other was a man, with hair of the same color worn fairly short. Both had matching blue gray eyes as well. Judging by their features, Conan assumed they must have been related, probably brother and sister, by their ages.

"Hey there." Heiji strolled up to the group, flashing his usual grin, not seeming to mind that he was barging into a crime scene. It was normal to him, after all. "Seems like there's a great bit of disturbance over here. Does it have anythin' ta do with the corpse we found while takin' a walk?" He asked, getting straight to the point.

The people gathered there blanched at the mention of a corpse, and the chattering increased. "Really?" The female officer asked. "You found a corpse?"

"Yeah." Heiji said, nodding his head. "A _really _weird one too!" He told them. "All shriveled up, with a broken neck. We thought it might 'ave been from someone over here, so we came to check it out."

The police officer's eyes narrowed as they heard Heiji's description of the corpse. "Do you think you could lead Ayame over there?" The male officer asked.

"I can do it!" Conan spoke up, raising his hand. "Heiji-niichan, I can do it, right?"

"Yeah, sure you can, kiddo." Heiji flashed another grin, before turning to the male officer. "Do ya have a name for the deceased? I'm takin' a wild guess that he came from this house over here." He said, jerking a thumb towards it.

"Yeah... but who exactly are you?" The male officer asked.

"This boy said your name was Heiji, right?" Ayame interrupted, glancing down at Conan. "Would that possibly be Hattori Heiji? The high school detective from Osaka?"

"That's right." Heiji said, flashing a grin at being recognized by someone. "I came here after hearin' about the weird murders that had been goin' on. It caught my interest as a detective. By chance, I happened to run into this kid I know an' his friends, so they're stayin' with me fer the moment."

"I see." Ayame said, clapping her hands together. "I've read about you in the papers before! We would be delighted if you would be so inclined as to help us."

"My sister's a big fan of yours." The male police officer teased, nudging his sister in the ribs a little. "Ayame? The body?" He glanced over towards Heiji then as he his sister apologized, giving a quick bow. She took Conan's hand then, and allowed him to lead her off towards where the body had been found. "I'm Ebihara Ayumu, and that's my twin sister, Ayame." He introduced them.

"Heh, twins both workin' as police officers?" Heiji whistled a little. That wasn't exactly something that you saw every day.

"Well, our family's full of them, so it was a natural choice for us." Ayumu laughed a little, before quickly turning more serious. "And, this body you found had the same pattern as the other cases? Broken neck, shriveled up?" He asked, pulling out his police notebook. When Heiji nodded, Ayumu wrote this down. "I see... judging from the exterior of the house alone, it's likely the culprit forced him outside and killed him in the forest."

"Seems that way." Heiji nodded. "Shall we check out the house, then, Ebihara-han?"

"Ah, right. You can call me Ayumu, though. We're both Ebihara after all." The police officer pointed out, tucking away his police notebook and heading into the house. "Everyone does, it gets pretty confusing fast otherwise." He paused, noticing that Heiji had stopped outside of the door, apparently examining it. "Hattori-san, are you coming in?"

"Ah, right." Heiji grinned at him, letting out a muffled sigh of relief when he entered the house without any problems. "So, do we have a name for the victim?" He asked again, his earlier question having gone unanswered.

"Ah, that's right. According to his neighbors, his name was Miyamoto Shichiro." Ayumu told him. "Age forty-seven, he worked as a botanist and also had a home in Tokyo. They said that he'd come to work here because there are a lot of different plants in this area." Pausing to recall what was said to him, he frowned a little. "They said that he seemed to be a nice man, but mostly kept to himself, so they don't think he had any real enemies."

"Any relation to the rest of the victims?" Heiji inquired, and Ayumu mulled it over.

"It's too early to say for certain, the only thing I can think of is that they all either moved here from somewhere else, or only lived here part of the year." Ayumu told him. "Other than that, they were all mostly middle aged men."

"Mostly?" Heiji asked him. The files he'd been given to look over only included middle aged men, now that he thought about it. One Ise Haruhiko, age forty three, who worked as a novelist, Kodama Eiji, age forty nine, unemployed, but from a family with old money, and Nagata Juinichi, age forty eight, who was employed as a cook in a local restaurant. Heiji had looked into before he had arrived here, and there didn't appear to be any apparent connection with the three month. "Was there another victim besides this one an' the first three?"

"Ah, very recently. She turned up yesterday morning, in fact, though she had been missing for around a week before that. Her name was Sugihara Hanako, age thirty eight, and she worked as a maid for the Kodama household. From the looks of it, she had been killed around the same time as her master. But all the other servants and staff in the household had gone unharmed. For a little, she was one of the suspects, but well, that was cut pretty short when she was found dead." Ayumu told him.

"An' those were the only ones ya could find with links to each other?" Heiji asked, looking through each of the rooms of the house. He could still smell the feral's scent clinging to this place, as well as that of the dead man. Aside from his own scent and that of Ayumu's, there was a third recent scent in the house that Heiji couldn't quite place. If he'd been a werewolf, he might have been able to trace it, but vampire's didn't quite have such powerful noses. He had an inkling that the third lingering scent was probably that of the feral's reign holder, and the true culprit.

"That's right." Ayumu said, nodding his head. "She didn't have a connection to another other than Kodama-san, though."

"Hmm." Heiji frowned, heading up the stairs to the man's bedroom. Studying the window and the shattered glass, he could tell that the feral had definitely left the house this way. There had been signs of a struggle, but not a very successful one, a broken lamp lying by a bed with sheets that looked like they had been tossed off in a hurry. Heiji noted that the door had again been broken down, hanging partially off it's hinges and broken in half. The feral must have gone straight up to this room, judging from the fact that there hadn't been any damage anywhere but the man's bedroom and the front door.

"What a scene." Ayumu observed, stepping into the room. "It looks more like the site of a monster attack than a crime scene. How strong do you think someone has to be to break a door in half like that?"

"Pretty strong." Heiji told him, pacing around the room. There were scattered papers turned out all over the floor, and the Osakan detective kneeled down, pulling out a handkerchief and carefully examining a few. They appeared to be notes about flowers, no surprise, given that the man was a botanist. There was one thing that caught Heiji's eye however, and he frowned, carefully picking up the piece of paper. It was more yellowed than the others, appearing to be quite aged. Handling it with care so not to cause damage to it, he frowned.

On the paper there was a sketch of a flower, which had a rather large, but fragile looking silver-blue blossom. There were notes on the page, but they appeared to be in Latin, so after a cursory examination of the words, Heiji gave up on trying to read them. He couldn't shake the feeling that he had seen this paper somewhere before- not this exact same one, but one similar to it. Tilting his head in thought, he tried to recall from exactly where he had seen it.

Then it hit him.

It was the 'magic flower' that Ayumi had told Kazuha about, the rumor that was going around the area about a flower that only blossoms underneath the full moon, said to grant the person who finds it true love. The piece of paper Ayumi had was a computer copy of only the drawing, not text to be found. She had also printed out a copy of the legend in question, and a page of comments from people who had claimed they'd found it in this part of these mountains. Frowning, he stood up, carefully holding the paper up and pulling out a plastic bag, tucking it away, Ayumu's attention turned elsewhere for the moment.

For some reason, it felt strangely relevant to the case.

* * *

Heiji and Conan had wrapped things up with Ayumu and Ayame a little while ago, and had exchanged cell phone numbers with them. They promised to call the Osakan detective if anything turned up on their side. He hadn't told him about the paper he'd found, but was showing it to Conan as they headed back the slow way to their borrowed mansion.

"You're right, it's exactly the same as Ayumi's." Conan noted, looking it over, still inside it's plastic bag.

"Any chance ya can read Latin?" Heiji inquired.

"A few phrases here and there, but not this." Conan told him, handing the bag with the paper inside of it back to him. "Maybe Arishima-san knows someone who can?"

"That's a good idea, Kudo." Heiji grinned, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket. He hadn't even thought about it. Dialing Mitsuta's number, he hummed to himself as it rang, vaguely impressed by the cell phone reception that they got all the way out here. "Ah, Mitsuta-han?" He asked as someone picked up the phone. "It's Hattori Heiji. I need to ask ya a few questions."

"Oh, Hattori-kun." Mitsuta said, laughing a little. "I recognized your accent right away. What is it?"

"Well, it's about somethin' we found at the scene of the fifth murder- ah, what's that? That's right, there was a fifth one. Just late last night, judgin' from the time." Heiji relayed to her. "That's right, it's an old paper with a drawing of a strange flower on it, with text written in Latin. I was wonderin' if ya knew anyone who could read Latin that ya maybe could air drop over here?"

"Arishima-san owns a _helicopter_?" Conan asked, looking incredulous.

"Ah, not her, one of her friends. Her husband can fly it though, apparently." Heiji told him, glancing down at Conan. "Ah, what's that, Mitsuta-han? No, I wasn't talkin' to ya. Ku-no, Conan-kun is with me. Yeah, we met coincidentally. Yeah, that's what I what I said, but then the old man's car broke down, so they're stuck 'ere for the moment until we can get it fixed."

"I see. Well, keep an eye on them. Feral vampires are like animals- they like things that are small and move fact, like children." Mitsuta said, getting up from her chair to rifle through some files. "But what's this about a strange flower, Hattori-kun?" She asked him, and then after a short pause. "Could it be a large silver flower?"

Heiji blinked a little, glancing down at the paper in his hands. "Ah, that's right. But how did you know, Mitsuta-han?"

"I see. So that thing blooms over there after all." Mitsuta said, and Heiji could almost hear her frown over the phone. "Hattori-kun, if you see a flower like that, I advise you to stay away from it. For that matter, if you find any strange piles of silver blue powder, stay away from that too."

"I don't get it, what's so bad about the flower?" Heiji asked, looking a little confused. "Accordin' to the legend about it I 'eard, it supposed to grant true love or somethin'."

Mitsuta's bark of laughter was so loud, Conan could hear it from his friend's phone, and it was enough to make the vampire detective wince, rubbing his ears. "Sorry, Hattori-kun. That couldn't be further from the truth. I'm not sure how it earned _that _reputation, but that flower is one of the main ingredients in the ritual used to create feral vampires. Well, it doesn't have any affect on humans on it's own, but to vampires, it's sort of like... psychonip, I guess. So, you should stay away from it, Hattori-kun."

"Oi, seriously?" Heiji asked, glancing down at Conan, kneeling down next to him so he could hear the conversation.

"That's right. Creating a feral can't take place without it." Mitsuta said. "It's likely the occultists who kidnapped Takamura-san knew about it blooming there, and moved their base of operations accordingly."

Heiji and Conan's eyes narrowed simultaneously, as if the boys were sharing the exact same thought at the moment. "Mitsuta-han, is it possible fer anyone else other than the people who created the feral to control it?"

"Mmm." Mitsuta considered the question, glancing through some papers. "It's possible, but only if an imprinting ritual wasn't used. Like a normal vampire transformation, a feral's transformation takes some time, and the imprinting ritual is only performed right after the transformation is completed. So if someone very important to Takamura-san met her before the transformation finished, it's possible they could unintentionally forge an imprint on her after she turned. That would have more or less the same effect as an imprinting ritual."

"I see. Mitsuta-han, you've been a great help." Heiji told her, exchanging a few brief words with her before he hung up, turning to Conan.

"In other words, if my theory is correct," Conan began, eyes narrowing in thought, "...then the members of the occult group aren't the culprits behind the murders."

Narrowing his eyes, Heiji all but finished his friend's thought.

"They're the _victims_."


	8. Ties That Bind

Author's Note: Chapter Eight is here! As always, Detective Conan and it's characters don't belong to me. Ayumu, Ayame, and Ryou do, however. Please read and leave a review if you could be so kind! I love hearing what people think. Also there is no force on Earth that can ever convince me that Ayumi is not totally a fan of magical girl shows.

* * *

Blood and Snow

Chapter Eight: Ties That Bind

It was late in the afternoon when Heiji and Conan finally returned to the borrowed mansion. After their phone call with Mitsuta, the two boys had decided to continue to investigate the backgrounds and the murders of the four men and one woman in question, in part to look for further traces of the culprit, in part to confirm their theories. Heiji had asked questions of friends and family members, and in the case of Kodama Eiji and Sugihara Hanako, staff members. Conan, meanwhile, surveyed the crime scenes in question, carefully browsing through things and looking for evidence to confirm the two high school detective's new theory that the murder victims were the occultists.

Heiji's questions hadn't gained him much information, aside from some new details about the times of death and the victim's relationships with the rest of the locals. Most of them seemed to be on fairly good terms with the local population, save for the first victim, Ise Haruhiko, who most people seemed to agree was an isolated grouch. Nobody really seemed to think that any of them had much to do with each other, and for the most part, there was nothing to really raise any flags about the five victims in regards to the occult. Conan's searching, however, had proved a bit more useful. In the home of Haruhiko, he had discovered something most interesting, in fact, hidden and tucked away underneath the man's bed.

Contained within clear plastic file holders, each yellowed page seemed more ancient than the flower drawing that Heiji was still holding on to. They were written in a language that neither detective could quite discern, but a phone call to Mitsuta resulted in her calling a friend of hers who served as something of a historian for the supernatural community at large. Sending some picture files to him had resulted in a firm confirmation of the two teen's suspicions- they were indeed an old record containing information on how to create a feral vampire. According to the historian, they were likely original version of what he now only had on copy, the real ones were stolen some two or three years ago.

They had left the records where they had found them for a moment, having more questions to ask, and the pages being a bit too conspicuous to carry around with them, and too fragile to fold up and put in their pockets. However, Heiji didn't like the idea of leaving them out where they could be found (and seeing that they were stolen property to start with), they went back to Haruhiko's home later after they had properly finished the rest of their questioning and had taken them back with them.

"Ah, Kazuha's back." Heiji noted with a grin, seeing his motorcycle parked inside the iron gate, no worse for wear it seemed. Briefly forgetting that they were in the middle of an investigation, he all but darted inside, tracking down his girlfriend inside of the living room, where she was sitting with the Detective Boys, who were busy fighting over what channel to watch. Genta and Mitsuhiko apparently wanted to watch a Kamen Yaiba rerun, and Ayumi wanted to watch the new episode of Precure (Ai was taking Ayumi's side, but Heiji didn't think it was because she actually wanted to watch the show in question). Kazuha, apparently, was trying to moderate the argument, without much success.

"Oh, Heiji!" Kazuha glanced up at him as he entered the room, smiling. "We found someone to fix the Professor's car. But, it seems like he won't be able to come out here until tomorrow morning."

"That's too bad." Heiji frowned. He would be standing guard on the front steps tonight to make sure nobody else got any bright ideas then. "Ya get around alright?" He asked, carefully checking his girlfriend over for any injuries. She looked fine, which relived Heiji.

"I'm fine, don't worry." Kazuha stood up, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. Glancing back at the Detective Boys for the moment, she addressed them. "Genta-kun, Mitsuhiko-kun, you two should let Ayumi-chan watch her program since it's a new episode." She told them, and despite the boy's groans, they complied, handing the remote over to a triumphant Ayumi. Turning back to Heiji, Kazuha took his hand and carefully lead him out into the hallway.

"I'm surprised we get television out here. Who the hell is payin' fer these bills an' not usin' this place at all?" Heiji wondered aloud.

"No idea." Kazuha said, shrugging her shoulders. "So?" She asked, once out of earshot of the children. "How did the investigation go? I say you took Conan-kun." She noted, a hint of mild irritation in her voice, glancing over towards the bespectacled boy as he went to join the rest of the Detective Boys.

"He brought himself!" Heiji protested, lifting his hands. "If it's not one of ya, it's the other, I swear. Anyways, the kid was useful though, so I guess it all worked out in the end. As for the investigation..." He motioned towards the stairs, suggesting that they take this to a slightly more private place. He didn't want the kids or the Professor to know the details about the investigation. Kazuha gathered this quickly enough, and followed him upstairs to his room.

Shutting the door behind him, Heiji quickly cleared off his bed, tossing the clothes he'd dumped there this morning into a nearby chair, and sat down, patting the space next to him for Kazuha. Smiling slightly, she came over and sat down next to him, the bed creaking a bit from their combined weight.

"Things have taken a turn I didn't quite expect." Heiji told her, then paused. "No, there was a part of me thinkin' it could be a possibility, but it wasn't exactly the first thing I'd thought of." He explained. "I was wrong about who was controllin' Takamura-han- now I don't quite know who's doin' it at the moment." He anticipated her question, cutting her off before she could even ask. "The murder victims _are _the occultists."

Handing Kazuha the records in their plastic files, and pulling out the paper with the flower drawing on it, Heiji handed them both to her. "It's a good thing Ayumi didn't find that flower last night, cause it ain't what the legend says it is." He explained, as Kazuha looked over the records, handling them with care, though they were protected inside the files. "Turns out it's one of the main ingredients in makin' a feral vampire. Ah, it doesn't have any effect on humans though." He waved off her question, then sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "On me though, that's another question apparently. Well, Mitsuta-han says it should be fine if I don't make any direct contact with the flower or it's powder..."

"I see." Kazuha said, handing the records and drawing back to Heiji. "I'm taking a wild guess you found these in the homes of the victims, then."

"Yeah." Heiji nodded, putting them on his nightstand. "From what I can gather now, someone is usin' what the occultists worked ta create against 'em. Probably revenge for Takamura-han. Accordin' to Mitsuta-han, someone close to Takamura-han is probably the one behind it." He gave a small, bitter chuckle. "Kind of a bitter irony. Anyways, I came back here to drop those off," he told her, pointing to the files, "...an' also the kid. I didn't want ta bring 'em along with me when I went ta inquire about Takamura-han's friends an' family. Probably safer that way."

Kudo would probably be pissed as hell at him for it, but after seeing that thing last night, Heiji wasn't going to take any chances. "Ya see anythin' while you were out with the little nee-chan?"

Kazuha mused over this for a moment, then seemed to recall something. "Ah, I remember overhearing something actually." She told him. "It seems there's an argument going on amongst the people who knew Takamura-san about whether or not to go ahead and declare her dead or not. They seem to think that maybe she was the murderer's real first victim, and it's just that nobody has found them yet. Her older brother and two of her friends are protesting this though, saying it's too early to give up the search."

"An'? Did ya get any names?" Heiji asked. That seemed like a logical thing to think, especially given that Hanako's body had only been found days after her death. Heiji of course, knew better.

"They mentioned the friends were named Ryou and Michiko, but I didn't get anything else." Kazuha apologized. "I think they realized I was listening in on them, and they moved somewhere else." Flushing a little, she laughed. "I couldn't exactly follow them after that."

"Ryou and Michiko, huh." Heiji mused, thinking this information over. "Well, it's probably one of those people. Someone might be in a hurry to 'ave her declared dead so that nobody realizes anythin', or they might want to keep up the search in some kinda pretense... so it could be any of them."

"I'll make sure Conan-kun stays here and doesn't follow you this time. He's pretty sharp though, that little kid, so you might want to sneak out when you leave." Kazuha told him with a small laugh, standing up. Pausing, she leaned down and gave Heiji a quick kiss on the lips. "Come back safe now, okay?"

"Yeah, don't worry!" Heiji flashed a grin, standing up and giving her a quick kiss on the forehead back. "I don't know if ya noticed this, but I'm pretty hard ta kill these days." He joked.

"Idiot, that doesn't mean you're indestructible. What if you come back with a missing limb or something? How am I supposed to explain that to the kids?" She asked, stepping back. "'Oh don't worry about Heiji you all, he grows back body parts like a lizard.'"

Heiji laughed a little. "I'll be careful." He promised her. "When am I ever not?"

Kazuha gave him a look, arching an eyebrow. "Do you want a bullet point list, or would you rather have the power point presentation?"

* * *

After a brief refueling courtesy of some of his blood bag stock (which was now one shorter than planned, due to last night), Heiji had exited via his bedroom's balcony, to ensure that Conan didn't follow him. He quietly made his way to his motorcycle, grabbing his helmet and tucking it on, and walking it over towards the iron gates, pulling them open, and then shut behind him. The clamor the gates made seemed to attract some attention from inside, and Heiji could have sworn that he heard Kudo swear underneath his breath at realizing that Heiji was leaving without him. He chuckled a little to himself, despite the fact that his diminutive friend would be giving him hell later, and started up his motorcycle.

Heiji had gathered a pretty good idea of the layout of the mountain town while out with Conan. All but the second and third, as well as the fifth victim, had lived pretty close to the town. They had passed close by to where Takamura Megumi had lived, and he planned to start his questions off at her house. Heading over there, he kept his senses about him, mulling over what he might find when he got there. Somehow he doubted that the culprit was hiding the feral vampire inside of their house- that was a recipe for disaster, after all. She was probably located somewhere else, somewhere more isolated, and somewhere the culprit could keep her imprisoned until they chose to release her. Most likely, save for the occultists, they wanted to ensure that there were no other victims.

He wondered, however, what the culprit had planned after they were all dead, however. Heiji somehow doubted that after all this effort to avenge her, they would simply kill the former Takamura Megumi. Rather, they would probably do whatever they could in order to ensure her survival, holding out that one day they would find a cure. A cure that Heiji knew didn't exist.

Eventually, he came to a stop in front of a rather small, traditional Japanese home, the name plate on it reading 'Takamura'. Glancing down at the address he had recorded for the missing girl, he confirmed this was the place, and parked his motorcycle. Taking off his helmet and hanging it on one of the handle bars, he rang the doorbell.

"Yes?" A woman's voice, which sounded somewhat tired, answered on the intercom.

"Ah, sorry to bother ya." Heiji began. "I'm Hattori Heiji. I 'ave a few questions to ask about the missin' Takamura Megumi. I think someone called to tell ya I was comin'?"

"Ah, yes." The woman's voice said, after thinking about it for a few moments. "I'll ring you in. Please do make yourself at home." She said. There was a buzzing sound after a second, which caused Heiji to wince slightly, and the front gates opened up. Heiji entered into the front garden, walking the short distance up to the doorstep.

The woman who greeted him was the same woman he had spoken with over the intercom. She looked to be in her late fifties, black hair starting to go gray and worn in a loose bun. From Megumi's file, he recalled that her mother had been named Touko. She had the same eyes as her daughter, Heiji noted, though it also looked like she hadn't been sleeping much recently. She managed to smile at him though, acting like a proper host. "Thank you for coming all this way. I hope it wasn't a bother."

"No, not at all." Heiji assured her, following her inside the house. She lead him into the living room, and invited him to take a seat, which he did. "I hear yer thinkin' of havin' yer daughter declared dead?" He began, trying to look reasonably sympathetic. This woman was probably going through hell, he thought.

"Yes." Touko said, shoulders slumping. "After all these murders we've been having lately... I can't help but think that my poor Megumi is just another one of his victims." She told him. "I know I shouldn't give up hope so easily, but for a kidnapping, we never even got any ransom demands, or anything. I can't help but think..."

"That she was murdered?" Heiji finished for her. Mulling over his words for a moment, he decided that the best thing to do for this woman, and for the concealment of the supernatural elements of this case, was to go with your theory. "That's true that it does seem like the most likely thing."

"I knew it." Touko frowned, but looked somehow relived, as if a burden had been lifted from her shoulders. Perhaps she thought that if a famous detective agreed with her, that she would finally be able to lay her daughter to rest, and put an end to the arguing that had been going on. "Do you have any leads about who the murderer might be? I hear another corpse was discovered this morning..."

"Ah, actually I was the one who discovered it." Heiji told her. "As for the murderer, I've got a few theories, but nothin' concrete quite as of yet. I'll make sure that they pay fer what they've done though." Heiji promised her.

Touko nodded, seeming satisfied with that. This woman clearly wasn't the culprit, Heiji noted- she seemed far too convinced that her daughter was dead to be faking it. "Thank you, Hattori-san. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"Ah, if I could perhaps ask some questions of the rest of the family?" Heiji inquired. "See if there was anyone creepin' around here before she went missin' that they might have seen. I also hear that she had two close friends... maybe I could get their names and address as well?" He asked.

"Of course." Touko said, standing up, Heiji taking this as his cue to rise as well. "My husband and son are in their rooms. As for Megumi's friends, just a moment." She said, picking up a pad of paper and a pen, and scrawled some information down on it. "Honda Ryou and Ueno Michiko, here you are." She handed him the paper, which Heiji took from her. When he began to move his hand away from her, she stopped him, cupping it in her own, and meeting his eyes.

"Please find the person who killed my Megumi." She said, gaining a certain firmness to her voice that she hadn't quite had up to this point.

"I promise." Heiji replied, and she smiled, releasing his hand.

* * *

Heiji had spoken now to both Touko's husband and son, as well as the second friend in question, Michiko, who lived rather close by to the Takamura family home. He didn't get the impression from any of them that they were the culprit, though he did get very different pictures from the each of them. Touko's husband and Megumi's father was angry, a low burning, simmering anger at having his daughter robbed from him. There was a touch of mourning to it as well, and it seemed that he too, thought his daughter was well and truly dead. Heiji had learned that he had been taking walks into the forest every morning, looking for any traces of his daughter's body, not seeming to want to give up until he found her.

Her brother, Satoshi, was angry as well- but he was angry at his parents. He didn't even let his mother into the room with them, coldly shutting her out. He had expressed how he couldn't believe his parents were giving up so easily. Talking with him did provide some new information- it turns out on the night that Megumi went missing, he thought he had heard some voices talking in low whispers outside his house. However, as he was prone to strange, half-awake dreams, he had dismissed them, thinking he was still dreaming. It was only later that he had realized they must have been the voices of the kidnappers- and he was convinced she had been kidnapped because of this. Heiji had asked him about the voices he'd heard, and he said he had heard maybe two men and a woman, but that he also didn't know any of the voices. Although he seemed to have a lead on the kidnapper, he also didn't appear to be the culprit, judging from the way he had deflated when Heiji told him that he agreed that his sister was most likely now dead.

Ueno Michiko, Megumi's childhood friend, was a perky young girl who was trying her best not to let her friend's disappearance weigh down on her- and was drowning in the effort. There were cracks everywhere in her otherwise cheerful mask, her voice full of hopeful optimism that Megumi would be found alive soon, a voice that cracked with despair every time she caught a sobering glance from Heiji. She most likely wasn't the culprit either- though Heiji did briefly pull aside her father and recommend that he find someone to counsel his daughter before she broke apart from the pressure of maintaining her facade.

That left the last friend, Honda Ryou, who, through Michiko, he had learned was also a childhood friend. The three of them were a bit isolated together, mainly because of Ryou, who the other townsfolk thought of as strange. He also apparently had feelings for Megumi, and had planned to confess to her on the night of her eighteenth birthday, which was just a few days after she had vanished. Of the group, Heiji had to admit, he raised the most red flags. He lived alone at the moment, in a small, two story apartment complex more in the main town area. He wasn't home the first time Heiji had tried, so he'd wandered around the area, asking questions of the locals, before he returned an hour and a half later. They mostly had good things to say about Megumi and Michiko, as well as the Takamura family, but they had no shortage of complaints about Ryou.

This time someone was home, Heiji noted, hearing noises from inside the apartment. It was pretty run down, he noted this time, and it was something he didn't picture as being out of place in the bad part of a major city. Parking his motorcycle, he headed towards the door, knocking on it. He could hear the sounds of someone rushing to move something around, before the occupant answered the door. Honda Ryou was a rather tall young man, about the same height as Heiji and had a bandage on the bottom right of his chin. He had dark brown hair, which fell so that it partially covered his eyes, and was worn in a careless mess to his shoulders. His eyes were a deep violet color, and they were currently meeting Heiji's with something of a glower, as if taking an instant disliking to the high school detective.

And Heiji almost as instantly, realized why.

Not only was his scent the same as the mysterious third scent at the home of the murdered Miyamoto Shichiro, but from the way his skin prickled, he could tell that he had been in contact with the feral as well. But even beyond that, he recognized that eye color, like a tell tale mark of someone who had a strong sixth sense.

"I've got nothing to say to you." The young man said, getting ready to shut the door in Heiji's face. The Osakan detective stopped it, however, taking a firm hold of the door and keeping it open. "I _said _I have nothing to say to you." Ryou repeated, glaring at him, annoyed at how easily he was preventing him from shutting his door.

"I wonder about that." Heiji said, shrugging his shoulders. "I think ya got a lot ta say ta me, Honda-han." Locking eyes with him, Heiji's own shifted into that golden green color, and although he seemed to realize what was happening, Ryou couldn't break eye contact with him soon enough. "I think ya should tell me everythin' ya know about what's become of Takamura Megumi." He told him, choosing his words carefully. Hypnotism was the power of suggestion after all- Heiji didn't exactly want to suggest that Ryou just tell him what he wanted to hear, but rather, the truth. Convenient as it was, it was why he didn't use it that often in investigations.

"I..." Ryou began, relaxing his grip on the door, clearly trying to resist Heiji's hold on him. "I can't forgive them for what they did to her." He said after a long moment, seeming to fail. "They turned her into that _thing. _They deserve to die by that _thing._" He spat out those words, all but quivering with rage. "I don't care if it means getting my own hands dirty, I'll get justice for Megumi in my own way. I can't trust the police on this! They would laugh, they always laugh at these sorts of things. No one of them have ever taken me seriously! I'm going to protect Megumi!"

"Oh?" Heiji arched his eyebrows. So it was like he thought after all. He couldn't help but feel sorry for the boy in a way- all of his feelings had gathered up inside of him and become twisted. "An' how did ya come to find all this out?"

"I saw it." Ryou told him. "I was dropping by Megumi's house when I saw three strange people carrying her out and putting her into a car. I chased after them on my bicycle, but I lost them deeper into the mountains. But I found the car at that bastard Kodama's mansion, in the back. I _know _about that guy!" He half yelled this. "I _know _what he does, what his friends do. They have it _clinging _to them all the time, carrying it around with him, that bad stuff on their aura! I knew they were going to do something horrible to Megumi! So I had to save her myself."

"Dial back the volume there a little." Heiji told him. "An'?"

A bit quieter now, Ryou hesitantly continued, obviously still struggling against the hold. Heiji could almost feel his resistance, and had to concentrate on holding it. This guy was _tough!_ The last time he'd gotten this much resistance is when he tried it on his father (and he was secretly worried that it would lose it's effect after awhile). That time he had been caught in the archives had been the only time he'd tried it on him.

"I found a secret passage under the mansion. But at that time, it was already too late..." Ryou trailed off then, and Heiji felt a firm mental jerk, as if Ryou had suddenly pulled himself away. Breaking eye contact at that moment, the sudden collapse of the hold caused Heiji's brain to swim, and he stumbled back. Reaching into his back pocket, Ryou pulled out a vial of water, popping it open and splashing it on Heiji's face in a flash.

The howl of pain was almost unavoidable, tearing itself from the Osakan's lips as what turned out to be holy water splashed over this face, sizzling his skin, which he could almost feel melting underneath him. Involuntarily reaching up to cover his face and try and reduce the burning sensation, Ryou took this chance to escape, grabbing a duffel bag stowed by the door and dashing outside. Heiji could hear him grab his bicycle, taking off on it. Although he knew he needed to go after him, Heiji was momentarily rendered unable to move by the pain, gripping at his face, his fangs elongating as if by automatic response.

He could only be glad that nobody else was around to see this. Staggering back and slumping down against a lamp post, Heiji tried to regain control of his body, taking in deep, ragged breaths, unneeded, but they helped him focus. His brain was cycling through an entire dictionaries worth of swears and curses, some of them... rather inventive. Finally, he managed to right his mind, and felt the burning and the swimming alike fade back. Pulling himself up, he focused his thoughts, and decided he should probably check on his face first. Using his motorcycle's mirror, he grimaced a little as he noted that the holy water had left a rather notable burn scar on the right side of his face. Mitsuta would be able to treat it, but he was on his own until he could get back to Beika.

Kazuha was going to kill him for getting hurt, and Kudo was going to kill him again for letting the culprit get away.

Adjusting his cap a bit so that it shadowed a bit of the right side of his face, Heiji leaned back against his motorcycle to try and get his thoughts in order. No doubt that Ryou was headed to where he had hidden the feral vampire, but he was long since out of sight. That kid had to have more than _just _a sixth sense, Heiji mused, still feeling the aftereffects of his hold being prematurely broken inside of his head. That had sure never happened before. However, Heiji managed to summon up the willpower to retract his fangs again, and got back on his motorcycle, taking off his cap and stuffing it in his pocket, and putting on his helmet.

For now, he should head back to where everyone else was. Somehow, he got a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, and he'd learned not to ignore those feelings. With the way the world was still somewhat blending together for him, he knew he probably needed to get somewhere safe for the moment and try to reel himself back in all the way.

* * *

"_Heiji!_" Kazuha couldn't help but be a little alarmed when her boyfriend stumbled back inside the house. She didn't have to look at his face to know that something had happened while he was out, it was the hammering of her heart that told her. She raced straight to the front door, completely forgetting about the dinner she was in the process of making. Tossing aside a rag that she was using to wipe her hands, she quickly embraced the boy she'd known since childhood.

"I've still got all my limbs." Heiji lightly joked, giving her a half grin. He couldn't move the right side of his face all that well, and he seemed to have a mild distortion in his vision from where the holy water had gotten his right eye. "Holy water to the face though..." He mumbled.

They were attracting attention now, the Detective Boys and the guardian peering out of the kitchen and the living room respectively. Conan came out from the living room, quickly realizing that something was not quite right with Heiji. "Kazuha-neechan, maybe Heiji-niichan has a headache and needs to lie down in his room?" He volunteered.

"Ah, that's right, Conan-kun." Kazuha said. "Come on, Heiji, let's get you in your room." She carefully lead him up the stairs, Conan following behind them and slipping into the door behind them. Carefully, Kazuha helped the injured vampire to his bed, helping him sit down. With a wave of his hand, he motioned towards the locked cooler, and understanding, Kazuha retrieved his key from inside the dresser drawer, and unlocked it, bringing it over to him.

It was only then she got a full eyeful of the burn scar over the right half of his face, which at the moment, took up most of it. Alarmed, she almost drooped the cooler, but thankfully, Conan was there to catch it for her, smiling up at her has he handed it back. She noticed the boy's small grimace as he saw the contents, but Kazuha was more than a little distracted at the moment. "What happened Heiji?"

"In a second." Heiji told her, taking the cooler from her. Pulling out one of the blood bags, he ripped off the top, quickly rendering it empty of it's contents. This no seeming to assuage his needs, he took another and repeated the process, this time letting out a sigh of relief as he finished it, closing the cooler again. It seemed to help, as the burn scar seemed to heal over somewhat, reducing itself to just the small area around his right eye. Feeling more focused than he had before, he made a few testing movements of his mouth, satisfied to see that it was now fully agreeing with him.

"Holy water." Heiji told them. "Our culprit has a pretty impressive sixth sense."

"I told you to be careful!" Kazuha half yelled at him, worry apparent in her eyes.

"I was! I just didn't expect him ta be able to break away..." Heiji mumbled, subconsciously rubbing a finger over the remaining burn scar. Hopefully, Mitsuta would be able to do something about it. Reaching down and pulling his cap out of his pocket, he once again settled it so that it covered the right half of his face somewhat.

"And did he get away?" Conan asked, watching his friend closely. He still seemed to be a little shaky, but the blood did seem to do him good, as much as Conan _still _hated to admit it.

"Yeah, sorry about that, Kudo." Heiji said, not automatically realizing what he had just called him. Conan, however, quickly paled, his eyes going wide.

"Kudo?" Kazuha asked, blinking. "Heiji, this is Conan-kun."

"Ah, that's right. Sorry, my head's kinda not quite all 'ere right now." Heiji apologized, and Kazuha seemed to buy it. "Sorry, Conan-kun."

"Well it's fine, Heiji-niichan!" Conan told him, putting the cute child mask back on. "Are you sure you're going to be okay?"

"After awhile, yeah." Heiji told him, giving him a small grin. "That was a soberin' experience." He admitted. "Gotta be more careful. Sorry, Kazuha. I was kinda careless." He admitted. "Do ya think I can talk with Conan-kun fer awhile?" He asked her. "Sometimes it's helpful, bouncin' ideas off this kid."

"Well," Kazuha paused, mulling over the question for a moment, then sighed. "Alright, Heiji. I have to get back to dinner anyways, I guess. Should I tell everyone you have a headache and can't come down?" When Heiji nodded, Kazuha leaned down, giving him a quick peck on the cheek, before she headed towards the door. She paused there, giving her boyfriend a long look, still clearly worried for him, and then departed.

"And?" Conan glanced back at Heiji once Kazuha was gone. "He got away, Hattori? That's not like you."

"Yeah, well, it's sort of hard to keep tabs on anythin' when ya feel like half your face is meltin' off." Heiji remarked. "He was already long gone when I gained back my senses. Sorry, Kudo."

"If it can't be helped, it can't be helped. So, who was the culprit?" Conan asked.

"Honda Ryou, childhood friend and boyfriend hopeful of the missin' Takamura Megumi." Heiji told him. "Saw her bein' kidnapped, an' followed after the kidnappers, tracked 'em to Kodama-han's mansion. Sixth sense and all that, seems like he knew they were up ta no good. No wonder he can figure out who was in that group- somethin' about aura readin'. Don't look at me that way, Kudo. You're the one who asked to be involved in this case, ya should have expected more things to challenge yer disbelief in the supernatural."

Conan grimaced, Heiji had a point. It seemed whatever disbelief in the supernatural Heiji once had, had been squarely tossed out the window the moment he'd become a vampire.

"Didn't quite gather what happened after that afore he nailed me with that nasty stuff." Heiji told him, reaching up to try and touch the burn scar again.

Conan swatted his hand away. "Don't touch it, you'll only irritate it."

"Okay, mom." Heiji held up his hands, clearly still able to joke. "Look Kudo, we got a few hours 'afore sundown an' I got a bad feelin'. I think I'm gonna take that nap an' see if I can't regain some of my strength. Ya mind makin' sure nobody gets in her cause of the... you know, the resemblance to a corpse when I sleep?"

"Yeah, don't worry about it, Hattori." Conan said. "Should I wake you up in two hours or so?"

"Ugh, that would be great, thank you." Heiji said, kicking off his shoes, and hanging his baseball cap on a nearby banister, before flopping back on the bed. Conan had to resist the urge to check his friend's vitals, watching him as he slipped into sleep. It really was like he was a corpse, and frankly, it was enough to put a chill down Conan's spine.

Well, regardless, Heiji was still his friend, and the least he could do for him was watch the door.

* * *

Exactly two hours later, Conan had woken up Heiji just as he promised. Everyone had already eaten dinner already, and Kazuha had gathered the rest of the Detective Boys in the living room to watch television, probably deciding that keeping them all in one place for the moment would be the safest thing to do. Maybe having Kazuha here was a good thing after all- Heiji wasn't entirely sure if he could deal with the kids by himself. He'd never exactly been very good with them when it counted the most.

Grimly, Heiji noted that the sun had set, and the moon had come out. Yawning a little, he was glad to see that he felt better after a bit of sleep. The burn scar around his eye hadn't changed any, but it didn't bother him anymore, which was good news. Grabbing his baseball cap, he tucked it down over his right eye as best he could.

"Are you going out?" Conan asked, waiting outside of his door. He looked up at his friend, a very unchildlike expression of concern on his face.

"Ya can't come with me, Kudo." Heiji told him firmly.

"I've dealt with murderers before, Hattori." Conan pointed out.

"Yeah, well I don't think you've dealt with murderers who can rip doors off their hinges an' toss 'em halfway across the street." Heiji pointed out. "Besides, it's... goin' ta go against yer ethics." He admitted after a moment, glancing up at the ceiling. It suddenly turned extremely fascinating when you didn't want to meet someone's gaze. He could still feel it on him though, which had nothing to do with his new vampire senses, and everything to do with intensity of Conan's stare. If the detective thing didn't work out for him, he sure could make a hell of a living doing police interrogations.

"Are you sure it's the only one?" Conan asked after a moment's silence.

"What's done is done." Heiji shrugged his shoulders, glancing down to meet Conan's eyes. "At this rate, the nicest thing ta do is end her continued existence as that _thing_. I'm sure some part of 'er is still sufferin' deep down in there. Probably that guy knows it too, but doesn't want ta admit it."

"Well, is there anything I can do?" Conan asked him, not liking being left out in the cold, so to speak. He was so used to working with Heiji, that missing the chance to when he was right in front of him was... strange, to say the least. Again, he got that feeling that his close friend had gone into another world where Conan couldn't follow him, and he didn't like it.

"Yeah, come ta think of it." Heiji said after a moment, retreating back into his room and coming out with several paper talismans, cradled inside a cloth. He still dropped them in Conan's hands as quickly as he could however, and seemed glad to be relieved of their burden. "Paste these on the doors an' windows. They keep vampires out!" He told him, sounding chipper about it.

"Seriously, Hattori?" Conan asked, shooting his friend a skeptical look, but merely rolled his eyes with a sigh when the Osakan detective shrugged his shoulders. Well, protective charms were a little easier to swallow than vampires and werewolves, he supposed.

"Hold down the fort here, Kudo." Heiji told him, playfully mussing his friend's hair. "Make sure those kids stay inside tonight. Have a sleep over in yer room if ya have to."

"Right." Conan nodded his head. He paused a little, frowning. "Stay safe, Hattori. That guy probably has other countermeasures prepared."

"Of course!" Heiji gave him a quick thumbs up, flashing a grin. "Like I'm gonna let someone get me twice. Who do ya think I am, Kudo?" Waving a hand, he stopped briefly in the living room, planting a quick surprise kiss on Kazuha. She returned the favor by grabbing his arm and preventing him from leaving until she got to kiss him right back.

* * *

Heiji had next to no doubt that Ryou would probably try and finish up wiping out whatever occultists remained tonight. His appearance had most likely stepped up his plans. Although his stomach churned a little at the thought of protecting such people, Heiji had already decided to see to it that there was no more loss of life tonight. It was still early into the night now, most likely Ryou was waiting until most people had gone to bed to release the feral vampire, to avoid any unnecessary deaths due to someone being in the wrong place, at the wrong time. Frankly, it was a miracle that nobody else had died during all of these, and that, Heiji figured was probably due to the strength of Ryou's bonds to what used to be Takamura Megumi. They must have been very close in life.

He had left his motorcycle behind for the moment. It made too much noise, and he could get to places almost as fast on foot these days. He decided to start from Ryou's apartment, the last place he had seen him. He'd contacted the twin police officers a little ahead of time, and they were waiting at the apartment. Heiji hadn't told them about Ryou's involvement in the murders, but had told them that he thought Ryou knew something, something of critical importance that he was too afraid to tell. Something that had caused him to suddenly flee from his apartment.

They got into the apartment easy enough, Ryou hadn't locked the door before he'd ran out. Accepting an invitation from the unwitting Ayame to go inside, Heiji took one look at the room and realized something instantly. Michiko had said that Ryou's parents had left for work overseas, but something about the mess that had been left behind here made him realize that this wasn't the real truth. They had most likely abandoned him, leaving their seventeen son to fend for himself, sick and tired of putting up with a child who could see things that they couldn't. Heiji's nose crinkled at the smell of the place, wondering how it was Ryou could live in all of this.

According to the twins, Ryou had been known as something of a local troublemaker- nothing too alarming, mostly getting into fights with other kids when either Michiko or Megumi weren't around. It didn't seem that he had any friends beside the two of them- no wonder he'd flipped his gourd when something had happened to the person who he had cherished the most, then. Still, it didn't seem to surprise the twins when he told them that Ryou could be mixed up in this mess. He could hear them whisper to each other, exchanging theories, that were almost right on the mark. He didn't confirm anything himself, but rather, studied the apartment, looking for clues as to where he might be keeping the feral vampire.

"Ah, I heard that he had some kind of private hideout in the forest." Ayame spoke up when Heiji asked her about places he liked to go. "It seems like he enjoyed exploring ruins and abandoned buildings. Most likely, he's was talking about the abandoned housing project. They were going to open up a housing complex, like the one Miyamoto-san was found at, but the funding fell through for it. They kind of left it sit there, with only three and half houses built."

"It's not far from Kodama-san's mansion, I think. Nobody really goes there save for Ryou-kun, I think. Everyone says the place is haunted." Ayumu recalled. "I think he was talking about having the place torn down because he didn't like having it nearby. Ryou-kun kicked up a mighty fuss about awhile back, so it seemed that the plans to do so were shelved for the moment."

"I can draw you a map if you like!" Ayame offered, opening up her police notebook and doodling on it. Pulling off the page, she handed it to Heiji. "Do you think Ryou-kun's the culprit?" She asked him.

"No, it's too early ta say somethin' like that." Heiji told her. "I think he knows somethin' though, somethin' related to both the murders and the kidnappin' of Takamura Megumi."

"I see." Ayumu frowned, thinking this over. "Well, we can escort you out there, if you would like, Hattori-san."

"Ah, no." Heiji protested. "I think it would be better if it were just me. I think the kid's a bundle of nerves right now as it is." He told them. "Thanks fer the map though, Ayame-han." He told her, and she glowed a little at the praise. Ayumu, however, looked more skeptical, but said nothing.

Tucking the map into his pocket for the moment, and giving the apartment another look over, Heiji soon departed. People were starting to switch off the lights in their houses now, by the looks of things, probably getting ready to go to bed. And Heiji wanted to head off Ryou before he got a chance to let out the feral vampire. For the moment, he strolled casually in the direction of Kodama's mansion, and waited to pick up speed until he was well out view of any buildings. He found the sprawling mansion easily enough, it was pretty hard to miss, being in a more central location that the one they had been borrowing.

Pulling out the map that Ayame had drawn for him, he grimaced briefly. "Uwaa, that Ayame-han can't draw at all." He noted. He made out the directions easily enough however, and tucked it back in, silently walking through the forest. His hunch was right on the mark, it seemed, because almost as soon as the decaying, unfinished housing complex came into his line of sight, he could feel the back of his neck prickle, as if sensing the other vampire. But it was more than that, he could feel another sensation, and something in his mind screamed at him to stop, and progress no further.

They came into view in the distance, growing in the ruins of the buildings. Silver blue flowers, large but delicate blossoms, currently closed up now that the full moon wasn't shining on them. There was some distance between them yet, but Heiji could still feel them, his fangs elongated in response, a vague knot of hunger growing in his stomach. Steadying himself, he took in and let out a deep breath. This was bad, he didn't expect to come across those things.

Heiji focused on the detective part of his brain for the moment, realizing that Kodama Eiji must have come across these flowers when he was trying to get the place torn down. He probably had some previous inclinations towards the study of the occult, and had probably called down a friend who engaged in the same studies who knew about flowers, Miyamoto Shichiro. Recognizing the flowers for what they were, they tracked down Ise Haruhiko, the novelist who had the records on how to make a feral vampire. From there, they had tracked down the rest of the members, and hatched a plan to create one themselves.

Probably, they had chosen to target Megumi because of Kodama's desire to get back at the unruly brat who humiliated him by protesting having the housing complex torn down, by yelling for all the world to hear that Kodama was not the nice gentlemen that he let people think he was. They'd probably picked Megumi because she was the closest to him, unwitting that this action would doom them. If Takamura Megumi was going to be thrown into a living hell, then Honda Ryou was more than happy to drag down each and every one of them into a real hell, courtesy of what they themselves had created. Deprived of one of the two people who understood him, Ryou had traded his sense of right and wrong for what he felt was perfectly justified revenge.

Crunching leaves pulled Heiji out of his thoughts, and he looked up, meeting the eyes of Ryou. "I thought you'd show up." He observed. He didn't look scared, and Heiji took note of the vials of holy water hanging off of his belt, and the crucifix looped around his neck. He could see what appeared to be a knife stuck on his belt as well, and Heiji couldn't help but briefly wonder where he had gotten it from. "You don't want to get near those things, do you?" The violet eyed boy questioned him. "Well, I'm not an idiot, so I didn't bring any of them over here, so don't worry." He said, lifting up his hands, spreading them apart to display that they were empty.

"Yer doin' somethin' yer gonna regret in the long run." Heiji told him, finding it a bit easier to focus now.

"I know." Ryou said after a moment. "But someone has to take revenge for Megumi. There's no one else but me."

"Doin' this won't change anythin'. Yer just puttin' blood on both yer own hands and compounding Takamura-han's sufferin'." Heiji said.

"That may be so." Ryou nodded. "But I'll save Megumi this time. I mean, look at you!" He said, glaring pointedly at the Osakan Detective. "You're a vampire too! I don't think you have the right to lecture anyone, even if you like to play detective."

"I'm a vampire alright, but I'm not a murderer." Heiji stated, meeting Ryou's gaze, locking his with the young man's. "What's left of Takamura-han an' I are different."

"Stop referring to her like that!" Ryou spat, eyes narrowing. "Even her appearance changes, I still know that's Megumi! She recognizes me! Listens to me, knows me! She hasn't tried to harm me even once!"

"Come on, Honda-han, yer smarter than that." Heiji frowned. "There's no goin' back for her. That's not the Takamura Megumi ya knew anymore, an' she won't ever be. That's just a monster that's takin' her place. Ya imprinted on her, which is why she listens to ya. But how long can ya keep her satisfied with just yer revenge? Yer gonna run out of occultists eventually." He noted. "An' then what? What will ya do from there on out? Are ya willin' to sacrifice perfectly innocent townsfolk to sate her bloodlust? Or are ya ready to kill her yerself?" Arching an eyebrow, Heiji looked deeply at him. "I don't think ya are."

"Don't lie to me!" Ryou snapped, temper flaring, glowering at the Osakan vampire. "Megumi hasn't done anything wrong! I know that if I look hard enough, I can find a way to save her! I know about things like this, I've been living in this world ever since I was born. Even my parents _threw me away _cause they got tired of me, and didn't try to understand me! Megumi and Michiko were the only ones who tried! Megumi was the first! It's _my _fault that she ended up this way, because I had to open my fat mouth around that bastard Kodama. It's my fault that he picked her for this sick fucking experiment! So I have to take responsibility for everything!"

"Like _hell _ya do, idiot!" Heiji shouted back, his own temper rising in response to Ryou's. "The only person ta blame fer Kodama-han's actions is Kodama-han! Ya couldn't have known he'd try to get such... disproportionate revenge on ya this way! Ya say ya want ta take responsibility fer what Takamura-han's become, but all yer doin' is causin' her more and more pain! Would the girl you loved really do things like this? There's no way to turn her back, idiot! She'll be trapped like that forever until someone does somethin' about it! _Takamura Megumi is already dead!"_

The weight of Heiji's words seemed to impact Ryou all at once, washing over him in a wave. Heiji could see it on his face, his anger and fury dissipating as he realized that it was true- there was no way to save Megumi, no matter how many people he killed. "That can't..." Ryou stammered, still fighting against it, not wanting to believe it. "That can't be! It's not fair!" He yelled, the words sounding stupid and childish even to him.

"No." Heiji admitted, at a loss for anything else to say. "It isn't."

Breakdowns were something that Heiji had seen before- they were common in his line of work. Under the weight of the truth, the weight of his actions, and the weight of his sins, Ryou's legs gave out, and he crumpled on the leafy ground. He let out a pained cry, punching the ground in frustration. Then hopelessness and despair, loss and sorrow overcame him all at once, and he began to cry. Heiji watched silently, unable to say or do anything to help. Months worth of anger and frustration let itself out at once, sorrow he wasn't able to properly express for a long time.

It seemed endless, and hours must have passed before Ryou finally managed to regain some of his senses, getting slowly to his feet. Eyes red and swollen, he nonetheless gathered up his remaining mental fortitude, steeling himself for what he knew he had to be the one to do. "That's right." He said after a long moment. "This time I'll take responsibility properly."

"Are ya sure ya can handle it?" Heiji questioned him. "I can if you..."

"No." Ryou cut him off, clearly having resolved himself. "I'll do it. I have to do it."

Frowning, Heiji nodded his head. He watched Ryou take in and let out a deep breath, as he headed back towards the ruins of the housing complex. Training his ears as the boy's figure vanished into one of the ruined houses, he could hear a brief commotion, and then, silence. Heiji could almost feel the feral's life slipping away from it, the prickling sensation fading away until nothing was left.

And so ended the life of the feral vampire that had once been known as Takamura Megumi.

* * *

Author's Note: I was at first planning on writing this chapter a little differently, but in the end this is how it turned out. I had planned for something of a more action like end to this... but it turned out more this way, in the end. It's sort of a tragic little tale, I guess, so it feels more fitting? After this is the aftermath of this arc, and then we move on to the third arc- vampire hunters! There will probably be a good amount of action in the last two arcs, so good for anyone who likes that kind of stuff?


	9. Vampires Make Bad Hostages

Author's Note: Arc break chapter, with some of the beginning of the third arc down towards the bottom. Please read and enjoy! I actually went in two other directions with this chapter at first, but this is what I ended up with. As always, Detective Conan and it's characters do not belong to me. Ryou and Gabrielle do, however.

* * *

Blood and Snow

Chapter Nine: Vampires Make Bad Hostages

It was a silent walk at first back to the main town, and awkward with it. Ryou trailed behind Heiji somewhat, eyes to the ground. He appeared as if he had resolved himself to turning himself in as the murderer- Heiji wasn't sure what he had planned to explain the murder method, but knew he would probably think of something. He told Ryou that he would support him in trying to get the remaining occultists, of which there were two, he had told him, convicted for their crimes. Knowing that they wouldn't escape justice gave some cold comfort.

A little while into the walk back, Heiji had asked Ryou what Megumi had been like in the first place. Ryou had hesitated at first, describing her in halting words. But as he continued on, his eyes lit up, describing the girl so vividly Heiji could almost picture her alive right in front of them. Ryou's eyes practically shone as he spoke about her, and although invoking memories of her caused tears to trail down his cheeks, he was smiling still. He was full up with good memories of her, and it was clear to anyone who was listening how deeply in love he had been with her. Heiji wondered if Megumi had noticed when she was alive, and came to the conclusion that she couldn't have missed it.

Megumi was a energetic girl, from the way Ryou described her. She loved music, and was passionate about the guitar. She had been playing ever since she was a little girl, and would play for Ryou whenever he was depressed. She wanted to make a living off of music, had fights with her parents about it, who wanted her to pursue something a little more feasible. She dreamed big, or not at all, and always spoke her mind, even if that meant putting her foot in her mouth more than half the time. Megumi hadn't thought that Ryou was strange, she believed that he could see things that others couldn't, Michiko as well. He would tell her stories about the things he had seen, and she would sometimes write songs using them. Michiko would sing them, and the three of them were working on making their own CD before everything fell apart.

It got Heiji to thinking about what he would do if something happened to Kazuha. The more he dwelled over the question, the less he was sure that he could hold it all together, detective or not. The more he thought of it, the less he liked the question, so he dismissed it entirely.

The police almost didn't take Ryou seriously when he went to turn himself in, until they took note of the resolve in his eyes. There had been a brief hesitation then, before he was taken back into an interrogation room. Heiji spoke with the inspector in charge of the district for the first time then, giving him a short summery of events, it's supernatural elements removed. Heiji explained that Ryou was taking revenge for the kidnapping and murder of his childhood friend, Takamura Megumi, and that the murder victims thus far had been her kidnappers. He might have alluded to the fact that they had done something 'horrible' to Megumi, but of course, the Inspector's horrible and Heiji's horrible were no longer entirely the same.

He seemed a reasonable man, this Inspector, and when Heiji expressed that Ryou was willing to hand over the identities of the two other culprits to the police, he took this information as the truth. After all, people rarely went so far for anything but the truth. When questioned about the method of the murders, Heiji could only shrug his shoulders, saying that Ryou was extremely tight lipped on the matter. He made up a lie on the spot saying that he probably didn't want anyone to be able to repeat the method, and the Inspector seemed to think it reasonable for the moment. No doubt he wouldn't give up on ferreting out the truth about it, however, but somehow Heiji had a hard time picturing this man believing in vampires.

With that, Heiji had left them, finally returning back to the borrowed mansion where everyone was. Waiting on the front steps was Kazuha, half dozing against the front door, clutching her charm in her hands. Beyond her, Heiji could hear the sleeping breaths of those gathered inside.

"Kazuha." Heiji reached down, giving her shoulder a small shake. "Wake up, Kazuha."

"...Heiji?" Kazuha blinked awake, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She smiled as she saw him, standing up. "You came back. I was worried about you."

"What are ya doin' out here?" He asked her, rubbing her shoulders a little in an attempt to warm her up a bit, half forgetting he was just as cold as the early spring night air, and only made things worse. Sheepishly, he pulled back his hands, tucking them in his pockets.

"Guarding the door." Kazuha said. "Waiting for you. Conan-kun wanted to, but I sent him straight to bed." She yawned. "Not something for a little kid to be doing." She looked at him then, meeting his eyes. "Is everything over?"

"Yeah." Heiji told her. "It was a sad case." He said, reaching over to pet her head a little.

"I see." Kazuha said, wrapping her arms around his chest, nuzzling her head in it a little. She felt comfortable there, she thought. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Do ya wanna hear about it?" Heiji asked her, resting his chin on top of her head.

"I'd like to." Kazuha told him, then smiled a little, pulling back and peering up at him. "But maybe inside. It's freezing out here, and you aren't much help, Mister Iceman!"

Heiji laughed at that, flashing a grin. "Alright. Ya gonna take care of those talisman things fer me?"

"No, I was just planning on having you stand underneath my balcony while I shouted at you." Kazuha said, rolling her eyes and giving him a mock punch to the gut. "Idiot."

"Ah yes, the world's _least _romantic version of Romeo and Juliet." Heiji remarked, grinning a little. He couldn't help but feel a strange, brief pang of guilt then, at the fact that he was able to be with the girl he loved, his childhood friend, when there were people out there who couldn't be so easily. Whether it was because they had been turned into a monster, or because they had been shrunken by a nefarious organization, Heiji realized exactly how lucky he was at this moment.

"Shut up, idiot." Kazuha grinned back at him, going inside. After a moment, she came back out, waving the collected talismans in her hand. "Come on, it's safe now, vampire boy. Why do you carry around things that are going to hurt you anyways?"

Heiji merely shrugged his shoulders, unable to quite answer her question. In truth, it was to have something on his side to counter with if he ever crossed paths with the vampire that turned him. But now was not the time nor the place to discuss that.

* * *

Two days had passed since then. Ryou's arrest had been made official on the day after, although only a few details were out at this time. Later in the day, two additional arrests had been made, and one Hamasaki Yuuichi and one Sugiyama Yuumi had been placed behind bars. The mechanic had come to repair Agasa's car, and had made a neat job of it. The Detective Boys, with Conan in tow, had left that afternoon. Heiji had gone over the details of the case with him in the morning, and told him that he was planning on stopping back in Beika before heading back to Osaka.

Kazuha and Heiji had spent the rest of the day together, and had acted pretty much as any other teen couple would. Heiji had taken Kazuha to a restaurant he'd heard from Touko was good, and treated her there for dinner. It was sort of awkward, sitting there across from her and not really eating much of what he had ordered. He'd nibbled on it lightly to be polite, and it sort of made him realize that date nights between the two of them were going to be rather problematic. On the way back, he'd treated her again to ice cream, the pair continuing to lightly rib each other all the way.

Some things really didn't change.

They had spent the night in Kazuha's room, and she had dozed off somewhere past midnight. Though he had no real need for sleeps now that the aftereffects of the holy water had worn off, he'd found himself dozing off after awhile, Kazuha's head still in his lap, hand on her shoulder. She'd awoken him in a bit of panic sometime early in the morning, only to let out a sigh of relief, her shoulders slumping when he cracked his eyes open and voiced a complaint. They'd laughed it off in the end, Kazuha making a small quip about 'remembering about it for the future' that made Heiji blush from the tone she'd said it in.

They left the mansion, locking it behind them, sometime later that morning, after Kazuha had breakfast. Driving back to Beika took a little bit longer, and they had again made a few stops for Kazuha along the way. Kazuha had filled herself up at a nearby restaurant, while Heiji had waited for her in the parking lot, consuming the contents of his last blood bag. He would have to thank Mitsuta for giving them to him when he saw her again, making an appearance in Osaka personally for it. Blood wasn't exactly something you could mail, after all.

It was late afternoon when they made it to Beika, nearing the evening, and Heiji dropped Kazuha off at the station. She would be taking the bullet train back to Osaka, while Heiji stayed behind to get his burn scar and eye examined by Mitsuta. After promising to say hi to Ran for her, Heiji headed first to Mitsuta's clinic.

"I see." Mitsuta frowned, leaning back in her chair after Heiji told her the whole story. "It truly is a tragic tale. What do you think is going to happen to him?" She asked.

"I can't say fer sure." Heiji shrugged his shoulders. "The fact that he turned himself in and assisted in the arrest of two other criminals will probably work in his favor but... he still killed five people. He'll probably be tried as an adult. If he's _lucky_, it'll be life in prison. If he's not..." Heiji spread his hands, wordlessly telling her that it was out of his hands now.

Mitsuta nodded her head at that, getting up and opening up one of the cabinet drawers behind her. Grabbing some tools, she took them over to Heiji, pulling up a chair in front of him. "Let's see it, then." She instructed him, and Heiji pulled off his cap, showing her the burn scar around his eye. It hadn't healed any further since that first night, and from the expression on Mitsuta's face, he had the feeling that it might not get any better. That, and it was starting to throb in an unpleasant way sometimes.

"Well, the good news is," Mitsuta began, shining a small light in his eye, "...that the eye seems to be working fine. There's a bit of discoloration in it though." She told him, sitting back, handing him a mirror. Studying it carefully compared to his other one, Heiji did in fact notice that it had become a shade lighter in color than his left eye.

"Most likely the highest concentration of holy water was in that area, which is why it won't heal properly." Mitsuta explained. "It probably won't, either. Things of that nature can leave permanent scars."

"Damnit, what exactly am I gonna tell that old man about this?" Heiji grumbled, studying the scar a bit more. "He sure won't be happy 'bout it." Sighing, he handed the mirror back to Mitsuta, who gave him a sympathetic look.

"You still haven't told your parents anything?" She asked him.

Heiji looked back at her, arching an eyebrow. "You told yer daughter about her father yet?"

Mitsuta flushed a little at that, laughing. "Point taken." Standing up, she went behind her desk and pulled out a small box. "For the moment, I'd advise you keep it covered and keep it clean." She told him, sliding over the box to him. Heiji took it, and then the next one, noting that they were a small box of cleansing wipes and another box that opened up to contain several small, white gauze, medical eye patches. "It'll probably be sensitive for the next few days- really you should have been wearing one earlier, but." She said, shrugging her shoulders. "What can you do. I suggest keeping one on for about a week. Well, take it off when you're driving though, for safety's sake."

Heiji pocketed the boxes, but not before removing one of the medical eye patches, glancing down on it. "Kinda makes me feel like one of those anime characters." He muttered, securing it over his right eye. He reeled back a little, shaking his head a bit from the sudden change in depth perception, blinking his eyes. "Well, is there anythin' else?" Heiji asked. "I was gonna crash with a friend fer the night."

Mitsuta thought about it for a moment, then shook her head. "Nothing comes to mind right now. Let me know if the eye starts bothering you, Hattori-kun."

"Ah, will do, Mitsuta-han." He told her, picking up his bag and slinging it over his shoulder. "See ya later. Take care of yerself." He told her, grinning and heading out the door. He walked the short distance with his motorcycle over towards the Mouri Detective Agency. Parking his motorcycle around back, he then went up to the office and knocked on the door, opening it when he found it was locked.

"Oh, Hattori-kun!" Ran was serving her father tea at the moment, glancing up as he came in. "Conan-kun told me you might be showing up today. Oh but," she blinked, "...what happened to your eye, Hattori-kun?"

"Ah, nothing really. Don't worry about it Neechan, it'll heal up soon enough." Heiji told her, glancing around. "I don't see Kud-no, Conan-kun anywhere though."

"If it's about that brat, he went out with his friends first thing in the morning." Kogoro glanced over at him from his newspaper. "Babbling something about a treasure map." He scoffed. "Hmph, as if making money is that easy."

"Well, they're just kids." Ran lightly scolded her father. "I'm sure he'll come home soon if you want to wait for him, Hattori-kun."

"No, it's fine, I'll go look fer him myself." Heiji told her, flashing a grin. "By the way, Neechan, do ya think I could crash here fer the night?" He asked her.

"Sure, Hattori-kun." Ran smiled at him, nodding her head. "That would be okay, right, father?" Ran asked, glancing over at Kogoro.

Kogoro grumbled, glancing up from his newspaper again. "Fine. But you have to sleep on the couch in here." Underneath his breath, he mumbled something about how he kept accumulating freeloaders, and Heiji chuckled a little at that.

"Well, I'll go see if I can find the kid." Heiji waved a hand at Ran, exiting the Detective Agency and heading down the stairs. Humming a bit to himself, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed up Conan's number. He frowned as it continued to ring, wondering if he'd gone some place without cell phone service. On the last ring, however, the phone was picked up.

"Hattori?" Conan's voice came across the phone. "I guess you made here then."

"Ah, sure did. Already sent Kazuha on back home." Heiji told him, heading back to get his motorcycle, walking it out to the front. "Where are ya now? The old man mentioned somethin' about a treasure hunt."

Conan half glared into his cell phone, almost able to _hear _Heiji's teasing grin over the phone. "Well, it didn't really pan out like they planned. It was Genta's idea, by the way, so shut up." Glancing behind him. "We ended up finding someone's lost dog on the way though, and they gave us a reward for it." He relayed to Heiji. "Currently we're at the bank. Apparently Mitsuhiko wants to put his reward in his bank account."

"Hoo~, that kid has a bank account already?" Heiji asked, whistling a little. Pulling off his eye patch and tucking it in his pocket, he grabbed his helmet, leaning against his motorcycle. "That's impressive, for a kid his age."

"That's true." Conan admitted, then laughed a little. "Genta is just planning on spending all of his on eel over rice, though. Probably all in one go, as well. I should be coming back to the Detective Agency in a little while."

"Ah, why don't I just come pick ya up there?" Heiji asked him. "I thought ya might like ta know how everythin' turned out after you guys left. Not sure I should talk about that sort of thing with Neechan around, knowin' how she is about scary stories." He laughed a little. "So just wait fer me, okay?"

Hanging up his cell phone and tucking it back into his pocket, Heiji pulled on his helmet, and headed for the bank. Arriving there a little while later, he parked his motorcycle outside, hanging his helmet over one of the handlebars and put his eye patch back on. Shaking off the effects of suddenly altering his depth perception, he looked around for Conan and the rest of the Detective Boys. They were lined up outside the bank, waiting for Mitsuhiko to finish his transaction.

"Yo, Conan-kun!" Heiji greeted them, managing to get it right for a change. "I came ta pick ya up."

"What's with the eye patch, Hattori?" Conan asked, quirking an eyebrow. "Trying for a fashion statement?"

"Shut up. Doctor's orders." Heiji glared down at him.

"Are you hurt, Heiji-niichan?" Ayumi asked, looking up at him.

"Ah, a little. It's nothin' serious though. I'm just not supposed to strain it fer a little while." Heiji assured her. "What about you? I heard from Kazuha that ya looked like you were havin' some nightmares the other day."

"Mm." Ayumi nodded a little, looking down at her feet. "They aren't really bad though! I can usually go right back to sleep after I wake up. I should be okay in a little while, mom says." She told him, smiling. "I don't really remember what they're about though, but I guess that's better for me in the end." She mused.

"Well, I'm sure they'll go away soon." Heiji promised her, suppressing a small wince of guilt. No doubt he had some factor in those. Still, nightmares were better to deal with than what could have happened to her if he hadn't done anything.

"But that Mitsuhiko is sure taking a long time." Genta grumbled, kicking the ground in front of him.

"Well, there's a long line inside, after all." Ai observed, glancing into the bank. "It can't be helped."

"So I hear you kids found a lost dog." Heiji said, trying to make some conversation. "But ya didn't find the treasure you were searchin' fer, huh?"

"It was no good." Genta heaved a deep sigh. "We followed the map properly and everything, but it just lead to a paved over lot! There was no treasure or anything."

"Well, there was probably something there around the time the map was made." Conan explained. "There's nothing we can do about solid concrete though, even if there was something still there."

"That's too bad." Heiji said. "Well, at least ya got somethin' out of it in the end. I bet the owner of the dog must've been really happy to see them back."

"He was!" Ayumi said cheerfully. "It was a really cute little dog! I think it was called a Corgi, or something like that. Do you like dogs, Heiji-niichan?"

"Ah, I like 'em well enough." Heiji told her, then laughed a little, scratching his cheek. "Lately, they don't seem to like me very much though." Or any animals at all, really. They got pretty aggressive around him. On the plus side, he didn't have to worry about mosquitos ever again, but on the other hand, he was never allowed back in the zoo ever again. He had gone there for a date with Kazuha two weeks back, and managed to get more than half of the animals riled up by just his mere presence.

"Ah, that's right." Heiji said suddenly, grinning down at them. "I sort of ended up ruinin' yer campin' trip, so why don't I take the lot of ya out for dinner? My treat. We can go anywhere ya like." He paused then. "Well, within a reasonable price range." He added after a moment, recalling the state of his funds.

"Sounds great!" Genta was the first to respond, clearly enthused at the mention of food. "I'll call my mom!"

"Hoo~ How unusually nice of you, Hattori." Conan dryly observed.

"What, I'm _plenty _nice. You wound me, kid." Heiji protested. "I better go get some cash out myself then. Ya wait out here, okay?" He said, heading into the bank and heading for the ATM line. Glancing about the bank, he spotted Mitsuhiko was just now getting to the teller, having to stand on his tip toes in order to reach the window. Heiji laughed a little bit, then frowned, sensing something strange. Turning around, he tried to pinpoint the source of the strange feeling, eyes narrowed.

The gunshot rang out from behind him then, causing Heiji to clasp his hands over his sensitive ears, the sound ringing through them as if someone had just shot it right next to them. The shot had happened in his blind spot, and from there, everything happened at once, as a quartet of masked bank robbers ordered the employees to close the shutters and lock the doors. Outside, the Detective Boys were started by the gunshot, and Conan impulsively slid underneath the shutters just in time before they closed. The four robbers were each armed, brandishing handguns, which they were currently pointing at the crowd and employees alike.

As his hearing came back, the ringing in his ears going away, Heiji could hear the robbers ordering the bank manager to come out. They roughly also yelled at the rest of the staff and customers to sit down, Conan just reaching Heiji, dodging invisibly between the crowds as he did so. Eyes narrowed, they exchanged a look and complied, taking a seat next to each other. Glancing over to where he had last seen Mitsuhiko, he saw him taking a seat as well, but then went out of view, covered by a much larger man.

"So if it's not a murder or a kidnappin', it's some kind of robbery or hostage situation, huh..." Heiji couldn't help but observe dryly underneath his breath, glancing over at Conan. "I'm startin' to think yer a jinx, Kudo."

"Shut up." Conan whispered, keeping his attention fixed on the bank robbers. He'd instructed Ai to call the police before he went in, so he knew it was only a matter of time before they showed up. Sparing a quick glance over at Heiji, he frowned a little. "You're not planning something are you?"

"Not at the moment." Heiji half lied, keeping his voice to a whisper. "I could probably handle all four of them- their guns are kinda meaningless on me, right? But there's too many people around, too many people who could get caught in the crossfire."

"Right." Conan's eyes narrowed, turning his attention back to the robbers. One of them, a shorter male, from the looks of things, had pulled out a bag and was demanding that the customers of the bank put their cell phones and wallets inside of them. He briefly caught Mitsuhiko again as he complied, and this time there eyes met, and the taller child seemed somewhat relieved at seeing both Conan and Heiji there. Finally the robber got to them, and Conan begrudgingly passed on his cell phone.

Heiji gave the robber a calculating look as he passed on his own cell phone and wallet, carefully making sure to pull out his real one, and tossed them in the bag. Glancing over at him, Conan could tell that he seemed to be thinking of something, and glanced back down at Conan once they had passed out of earshot. "That one with the bag over there. What do ya think they're carryin' in it?" Heiji whispered, pointing with his good eye towards a larger male robber. He appeared to be carrying a large bag, and judging from the way he held it, there was something weighing it down. "It sounds like somethin' is clankin' in it every time he shifts around."

"They're probably planning something." Conan mumbled, eyes narrowing. "Tape? Rope to tie us up with? I don't see any with them."

The answer was not long in coming, as the bank manager complied with their demands, gathering up the money the bank had on hand, and handing it over to the robbers. Another man, somewhere in the height range between the man collecting cell phones and wallets, and the man holding the large duffel bag, collected the money in his own bag. He barked out an order then for everyone to kneel down on the ground, faces to the floor. Keeping his ears trained on the noises around him, Heiji complied for the moment, his body tensing though. There was a strange hissing sound after a few moments, which Heiji recognized as the sound of a gas canister.

Heiji swore underneath his breath, gaze darting over to Conan, who was clearly trying not to breathe into the gas. For once, Heiji felt vaguely grateful that he didn't need to breathe anymore, the gas that clouded up around them doing him no harm. Judging from the reactions from those around him, it appeared to be sleeping gas. Giving Conan a squeeze on the arm, Heiji silently communicated to him that he was going to do something about this. When the young boy nodded his head, finally succumbing to the effects of the gas, Heiji carefully pulled off his eye patch for the moment, needing a full view of the situation, eye strain be damned.

Peering up as much as he dared so as not to give himself away, Heiji trained his ears on the robbers. He could see the feet of two of them in front of him, and assumed they must have had gas masks in the bag as well, from the sound of their muffled voices. The leader, who appeared to be the large man, issued orders to the remaining three, telling them to get everything together like they had planned. Out of the corner of his eyes, Heiji could see one of them picking up Mitsuhiko and another child that happened to be nearby. Hearing the sounds of footsteps coming towards him, he closed his eyes for the moment, only to hear someone lift up Conan, who was next to him. Peeking his eyes open again when he heard them turn away, he saw the fourth robber, who up until this point had not been doing anything, started to move.

Heiji had to bite back a curse when he realized that what this man's bag contained was a bomb. Recalling that they had ordered the bank manager to keep the safe open, Heiji began to ascertain what their plan was. Most likely, they were going to imprison a number of the hostages inside of the safe, where they would set the bomb up inside. The sleeping gas had been used in order to eliminate the chance of resistance from the hostages, and to take away an unknown elements. They would tie the hostages up in there while they slept, and would demand that the police not interrupt their getaway, or they would blow the safe and the people locked inside of it sky high. Probably, they had a remote code that could be entered to either detonate or deactivate the bomb, and would only enter it, they would say, when they were sure there was no police pursuit, probably just a little before the timer on the bomb went off.

Hearing the footsteps coming back, he closed his eyes again and stilled himself. Heiji could feel one of them reaching towards him, and had to bite back a small grin as they hoisted him to his feet. There was a yelp of surprise from one of the robbers then, as they reported to their leader with shock that this hostage was dead, feeling no heartbeat coming from him, and realizing he wasn't breathing.

"What? Are you sure?" The leader said, coming over to the person who had hauled him to his feet. Heiji did his very best at playing a corpse during this duration, listening as the leader consulted with the other members of the robbery team. Outside, Heiji could hear the police start to gather. Flashing a grin then, Heiji sprung into action, getting to his feet and spinning around, cutting off a swear from the robber who had been holding him up until that point with a kick to his face.

Which accidentally sent him sailing up into the ceiling, knocking his head on it, before he crashed back down. Wincing a little, Heiji hoped in the back of his mind that he was still alive, and seemed slightly relieved when he was still breathing, though quite unconscious. Right, he reminded himself, dial back the power.

"_You!_" The leader sputtered, turning his handgun on Heiji. He lifted up his hands then, before grinning a little and closing the distance between the two of them, jamming his knee into the man's stomach. He doubled over from it, the wind knocked out of him, his handgun clattering to the floor as he collapsed on his knees. Well, Heiji didn't exactly have Ran's karate skills (and briefly, he imagined Ran combining her karate skills with a vampire's strength, and shuddered- now that would be scary), he would make do in a pinch.

"Why aren't you asleep like the others?" The remaining robber, who was not transporting the hostages into the safe, fixed his handguns on him, the bomb, for the moment, forgotten. Not yet active, Heiji noted. "Get down! I'll shoot."

"I don't think that'd really solve yer problems." Heiji told him plainly, leaning down to pick up the leader's handgun. "I'm a bit _unique_, after all." He said, breaking the gun in half and letting it clatter to the floor. "Well, if there's anyone ta blame fer this, it's yer plan. Good job puttin' everyone else to sleep, cause now I can do whatever I need ta do with ya and don't have ta worry about anyone else seein' it." The third robber went pale, but fired a round off at him anyways. Heiji noted that he didn't have very good aim, though he managed to get in two shots, both in his chest. Heiji bit back a hiss- getting shot still hurt, check. Outside, he could vaguely hear the police clamor as they heard gunshots from inside.

"I-impossible." The third robber stumbled back as Heiji was still standing, the gunshot wounds closing up on their own. Flashing another grin, Heiji closed the distance between them, bringing his fist to the man's face, knocking him down. He winced a little, pulling back as he heard the very distinct sound of his jaw breaking, cursing himself again for not holding back his power. Grabbing his handgun, and breaking it in half as well, he glanced around for the last one, and realized that he had shut himself up in the bank vault. Glancing to the side of it, he noted that the kids he had been planning to put in there were lying outside of it to one side, dumped unceremoniously on each other.

Heiji paused for a moment, leaning down to check on their vital signs. "Good." He said, seeing that they were okay, and carefully picked them up, moving them a little bit away, with the rest of the sleeping customers. Outside, he thought he heard the voice of Inspector Megure, debating with the officers outside about whether or not to storm in. Heiji got the feeling that he shouldn't be here when they chose to. It was going to be awfully hard to explain all of this away, now that he thought about it.

Still, there was one more to deal with, Heiji thought, glancing over at the safe. Cracking his neck, followed by his knuckles, he concentrated, this time letting his true power come out. He kicked against the safe door, causing cracks to form in the wall around it, but it held still. Kicking it again resulted in more cracks, and a third time resulted in the safe door toppling over, the wall around it collapsing. He blinked as he peered in once the dust cleared, and laughed a little, realizing that the man he'd been after had passed out in the corner of the safe, clutching onto his handgun for dear life.

"Oh." Heiji frowned. "Well, that was unnecessary." He remarked, crossing his arms in front of his chest and laughing a little. "I guess that was pretty scary though." He admitted, almost sounding sheepish about it. Glancing outside, he could hear Megure decide on a course of action, and quickly darted back over towards the robber who had taken up personal possessions, digging through it for a quick second and taking his wallet and cell phone back, quickly sticking them in his jacket pocket. It was a good thing he hadn't removed his biking gloves yet. Quickly, he headed towards the back of the bank, carefully navigating towards the back door. Keeping an ear out, and hearing nothing, he quickly ducked out of it.

Seeing that there was no one there, he quickly moved up the side of the building directly behind the bank, stopping when he got to the roof. He glanced down at the scene below him, as the police decided to break into the bank by force, shattering the windows and the shutters by force. Heiji had to bite back a laugh as he watched the police drop their guns in confusion when they found that everyone in the bank was unconscious. Heiji stayed up there for awhile as they began to try and determine exactly what had happened, easily picking out the four robbers due to their gas masks, and having them hauled away first. Someone else came to take away the deactivated bomb, and a little while later, the first of the hostages were woken up.

And not long after that, Heiji got a phone call from Conan, which he answered.

"You broke the safe." Was all Conan had to say at first. "_Hattori. You broke the safe." _The shrunken detective hissed over the phone, having found a quiet corner to talk in once his friends had been elated to see that he was alright. "I covered for you over here though, so you better be grateful. But why in hell did you think breaking the safe would be a good idea?"

"Well, I was caught up in the moment." Heiji admitted, standing up and strolling across the roof, heading down the fire escape on the side opposite the bank. "As fer the others... I haven't quite gotten used to my own power yet, ya know? Ya should have seen their faces though Kudo, it was somethin' else!" He laughed. "The police are gonna think their crazy when they hear the story they have to tell 'em."

Conan sighed. "Well, it's fine because you won't be caught on videotape, Hattori, but be less reckless next time."

"Hey, I stopped them, didn't I?" Heiji asked, mock hurt in his voice. "Is that any way to thank someone who saved yer life, Kudo?"

"Well, I guess that's true." Conan admitted. "But _really _Hattori, the safe? Are you even trying to hide the fact that you..." he paused, not believing what he was going to say next. "...aren't human? Someone's going to find out if you keep pulling these kinds of stunts."

"Right, right, mom." Heiji said. "I'm hangin' up. I'll join ya guys in a second." He said, closing his phone and spotting the Detective Boys. They didn't look all that shaken, he noted, but then again, they were apparently used to things like this. That thought was a little disturbing though, Heiji had to admit. Kudo and that Haibara girl were one thing, but sometimes he had to wonder about the other three.

* * *

They had been held up at the bank for at least an hour after that, but eventually got to leave it behind. Heiji took the Detective Boys on their promised dinner, which ended up being to a revolving sushi restaurant. Sticking to some green tea, Heiji watched from the corner as they discussed the day's events. He'd managed to convince anyone who questioned Conan's story about him leaving early that they were mistaken with what they thought they had seen. Eventually, the rest of the Detective Boys departed for home, and Heiji and Conan walked back, Heiji walking his motorcycle along with him.

They were greeted at the door by a Ran that was equal parts worried and annoyed that they hadn't gotten into contact with her after the failed bank heist. She had seen Conan on television, but not Heiji, of course. Conan managed to worm his way out of her scolding by claiming that he was just so exhausted, and the girl's motherly instinct took over, sending Conan off to bed. That didn't stop her from glaring angrily at Heiji, however, for 'not being there when Conan was in danger'.

He had managed to get out of that one, how, he wasn't quite sure, but he had left for Osaka first thing in the morning. Well, Heiji had been right that his father would be angry with him when he came back. Oh, he hadn't really _said _anything to him, but Heiji knew _that _look. While his mother had fretted over him worriedly upon seeing the eyepatch, his father had watched him, expression seemingly unchanging, wordlessly. Heiji had finally managed to excuse himself to his room, claiming that he was tired after his long trip. Sighing as he closed the door behind him, he tossed his bag on his bed, joining it a moment later.

It had taken him a little longer to get back to Osaka than he had thought it would. He'd gotten held up by _another _case, someone had murdered a girl at a gas station that he had stopped at. Well, it hadn't been a hard case at least, rather he'd wrapped it up pretty quickly. The problem was afterwards, when Heiji had lost his temper at the man's ranting and had punched him, half forgetting about his own strength. He'd ended up breaking the man's jaw (for the second time in two days, even), as it turned out, and he was held up at the hospital for several hours afterwards. He'd managed to worm his way out of the situation, however, and hopefully word wouldn't get back to his father about it. Likewise, he hoped that his father would get wind of the strange, failed bank robbery back in Beika.

There was a knock on his door then, that Heiji recognized as his mother. "Heiji? Kazuha-chan is here." Shizuka called through the door. "She's waiting downstairs if you want to see her."

"Alright, one second." Heiji said, grabbing his cooler and storing it inside of his closet, locking it behind him. He paused, fishing the mock wallet with the blood vials stored inside from his bag, tucking it in his back pocket, and grabbed his baseball cap, putting it on backwards, and headed downstairs to meet Kazuha.

If there was one thing that his parents seemed happy to hear about, it was the fact that Heiji was now dating Kazuha. They had apparently thought it was a long time in coming, and his mother, in particular, had been overjoyed about it. It took everything Heiji had to convince her not to film them, and Heiji had kept looking over his shoulder on their first official date, checking that his mother wasn't lurking off somewhere in the distance, videotaping the whole thing.

Heiji paused a bit towards the living room, his ears perking up as he heard the sounds of his father and Kazuha talking. Frowning a little, he quietly crept up, wondering what they were talking about.

"It seems that you're the only person my son is really getting close to these days, Kazuha." He heard his father say, and Heiji bit back a groan, knowing where this conversation was heading. "He's been worrying me a bit lately. He's been acting awfully strange, I'm sure you've noticed."

"Heiji is just _fine_, I promise." Kazuha laughed a little, trying to brush away his father's worries. For his father to be talking about them to someone other than his mother or Kazuha's father though was noteworthy, and he had to admit, it made him feel just a little guilty.

"Well, I'm glad you think so, Kazuha, but I'm sure you've noticed it, haven't you?" Heizo asked her, and Heiji could almost _hear _the frown in his voice. "He hasn't been eating properly, he's been sneaking out in the middle of the night. I tried following him, once." He admitted. Heiji recalled that. He also recalled giving his father the slip. "But he shook me off pretty quickly. He seems like he's been keeping something a secret from us, and..." The older man sighed, rubbing his forehead. "I'm worried that he's getting involved in something he shouldn't be."

"But it's _Heiji_." Kazuha laughed a little as if the very idea of Heiji getting mixed up with the wrong crowd was so absurd, it was laughable. "Trust me, it isn't like he's getting involved in anything bad. He's just going through some things at the moment." She half lied to him. "It's nothing serious. You don't really need to worry about it. I'm sure he'll tell you about it when he's ready."

Heizo met Kazuha's eyes, and she flinched a little, realizing that she had probably made a mistake. "So you know what he's been hiding?" He asked her directly.

"Ah, sorry. I do." Kazuha said after a moment. "But it's really not my place to tell you. I'm sorry!"

"If ya wanna ask questions 'bout me, why don't ya just ask 'em to my face, old man? It's not like ya ta go behind my back." Heiji said, deciding to make his appearance now. Kazuha looked up gratefully at him, quickly coming by his side and taking his hand. "In the meantime, Kazuha an' I are goin' out." Gripping her hand, he turned away from his father, pulling her behind him. She stumbled a little bit, but caught up with him.

_Uwah, he's a bad mood. _Kazuha noted. She hadn't realized tensions between Heiji and his father were rising that much.

Heizo watched his son leave, eyes narrowing as he considered him. He had been acting strange indeed, and although they hadn't always been on the best of terms, his son was acting more confrontational towards him these days. Heizo knew what that meant, he had always acted that way when he was keeping something from him. It wasn't hard to see through the meanings of his son's actions, he was as open as a book to Heizo in that regard. But this was different- he could feel that something about his son had changed. The late hours, the lack of appetite, not to mention how cold his son's body had gotten lately- he'd felt corpses with the same body temperature. Not to mention his son's recent displays of unusual strength- Heiji had always been strong, but normally one was not able to so easily punch a whole through a solidly built wall.

There had been the incident at the police station too, that Heizo had heard about from Otaki. That caught his attention as well, hearing how his son had turned pale at the woman's sudden and unprovoked reaction. Frowning, Heizo puzzled over his thoughts for a moment. He had a strange feeling that there was something he had forgotten, just at the edge of his memory, that refusing to come when requested. There was a gap there, and after talking to a few other people, Heizo had learned that there where strange memory gaps cropping up all over the place around his son.

It didn't make much sense, but Heizo was determined to get to the bottom of it.

* * *

It had taken awhile for Heiji to cool down after that, and sensing his mood, Kazuha took him to a nearby cafe. They had ordered some cold drinks there, and were sitting at a small table in the corner, discussing Heiji's stop at Beika. She had pretty much the same reaction as Conan did when she heard about the foiled bank robbery, telling him to be more careful. She had of course, heard about it on the news, and had an inkling that Heiji had been involved. A hot blooded personality wasn't the best to combine with being a vampire, apparently, she noted.

"Well, after that, Neechan was super mad at me, cause she thought I had left Conan-kun there, an'..." Heiji paused, glancing around the cafe for a moment, a strange look on his face. The door opened then, letting in a young woman, who appeared to be in her late twenties. She appeared to be of foreign origin, with dirty blonde hair that curled over her shoulders, bangs pinned back with rainbow hair clips. Her eyes, which were also searching the cafe, were dark brown, and they met Heiji's after a moment. As Kazuha watched, it appeared that a look of understanding crossed between the two of them, and the woman came over towards their table.

"Um, am I mistaken in thinking...?" She began, her Japanese accented a bit strangely, but still understandable.

"No, yer not wrong." Heiji told her, flashing a grin. "Yer the first one I've met in Osaka, though." He laughed a little. "Then again I wouldn't have noticed ya a month ago."

"Oh, a newborn!" The woman clapped her hands in delight. "I'm Yamaguchi Gabrielle. Or at least, that's my current name."

"Oh." Kazuha said, a look of understanding dawning on her face. "I see. I get it now. You two are..." she paused, not wanting to say 'vampires' out loud in a crowded cafe, so chose something else. "...the same, right?"

"That's right!" Gabrielle said, smiling at her. "Are you two a couple?" She asked, looking between them, and flushed a little. "Oh no, am I interrupting a date? How rude of me! I'll excuse myself immediately."

The two lovers blushed, exchanging a look. "No, it's fine." Kazuha said after a moment. "You can stay if you want, Yamaguchi-san. As long as it's okay with Heiji." She paused then. "Ah, I'm Toyama Kazuha, and this is Hattori Heiji."

"Hattori Heiji?" Gabrielle blinked, pulling up a chair. She seemed to recall that name, but from where... "Ah!" She said after a moment, a light bulb going off inside of her head. "I see! You're that famous high school detective! I wasn't aware you were one of our kind though." She admitted.

"Like I said, it's recent." Heiji laughed a little. "Just over a month ago now. Still gettin' used ta things. What about you?" He asked.

"1867." Gabrielle told them, and giggled a bit at their reactions. "I work as an elementary school teacher, currently. Kids are great, you know? I used to teach high school in Tokyo before this, but I think I like kids better. In high school, it's all about tests and tests, so it's kind of depressing."

"Heh, is that so?" Kazuha asked, becoming interested. "What grade?"

"Fifth grade." Gabrielle smiled, then glanced over at Heiji. "So you haven't met any others yet?" She asked him. When he shook his head, she clapped her hands. "Oh, excellent! I can introduce you to everyone I know then! They're all great people." She said, although sometime about this woman's personality lead Heiji to believe that 'great person' was her de facto impression of everyone she had ever met.

"Sure." Heiji grinned at her. "I'd love that."

"Oh, Kazuha-chan can come too if she wants." Gabrielle turned her gaze back towards her. "I'll call everyone up, and maybe we can meet here for coffee next Sunday. Oh, it sounds like so much fun! It's been so long since I've met another member of my kindred. It'll be a party!"

* * *

The hour was growing late, the sun starting to set for the night. Inside one of Osaka's many elementary schools, Yuyake Elementary School, Gabrielle was finishing up for the day. She was the last one in the teacher's room, she noted, and laughed a little as she looked over at the stack of papers that she had been spending all this time grading. The batch of fifth grade students she had this year were very imaginative, she thought, flipping through the creative writing assignments. She had ended up reading them, and reading them again. Truthfully, she felt a little bad that she would have to return them, and decided that she would make some photocopies of them.

It had been a day since she met Heiji and Kazuha in the cafe, and she was eagerly looking forward to the coming Sunday. She had yet called up her friends for the meeting though, not having the time. She would do it first thing tomorrow, she decided.

"Ah." Gabrielle glanced up, noticing the door opening, and smiled a little when she realized who it was. "Oh, it's you! I'll be done in a little bit. I just want to make some photocopies." She told the figure at the door, giving them a bright smile as she showed them the papers. "My students are so creative this year! I think I've got a class full of writers."

"Hm?" Gabrielle paused, glancing over at the figure as they came closer. "Is something wrong? You seem a bit strange today." She noted, blinking. As the figure drew closer however, she paled, eyes going wide. "You're... don't tell me!" She drew back. "Is this why you got so close to me?" She asked again, eyes filling up with tears as she suddenly realized that she had been betrayed.

"Yes. But, if you want to blame anyone, blame yourself for being so trusting." The person said, reaching over and grabbing her mouth firmly, pulling the woman close. Feeling her strength leaving her, she glanced nervously around her, realizing that the set up of the room had changed a little since yesterday. A barrier formation had been secretly erected, and she was caught within it, now that it had been rendered active. In a last ditch struggle, she bit her attacker, but the person shook it off, opening their coat to reveal a menacing looking dagger. "Thanks to you, I've got a good impression of who all the vampires in this city are."

With nothing else to do, she screamed.


	10. When the Hunters Become the Hunted

Author's Note: Chapter ten, and vampire hunters and what not. Also known as the chapter in which I am a horrible person to my favorite character. Then again, I am not sure how this is news, exactly. This turned out to be a rather long chapter, oops. Also I guess the story title is now officially an artifact title, oops again. Detective Conan and it's characters, as always, do not belong to me!

* * *

Blood and Snow

Chapter Ten: When the Hunters Become the Hunted

"The name of the deceased is Yamaguchi Gabrielle, age twenty-seven. She's worked at Yuyake Elementary School for three years after moving here from France. She was employed as a literature teacher." A police officer reported. "Her father was Japanese and her mother was French, but it seems like they both died some time ago, before she moved here. She has no other family."

"Thank you." Otaki nodded, before turning back towards the crime scene in front of him, a grim look on his face. He had seen a lot of murders in his days, but this was up there with some of the worst. A headless corpse lay in front of him, blood having all but gushed out from the neck all over the floor. Scattered on the ground and stained with the woman's blood were a flock of papers, which he'd gathered to be assignments she had been grading when the killer had struck. Carefully, he picked up one of the less bloodstained sheets, reading it over. He was struck by all of the comments she'd written on the edges of the page, encouraging ones, kindly reminding them of a mistake, and how not to make it again, elaborating questions on the story that covered the page. Clearly, a teacher who cared about her student's work.

"Who could hate you _this _much?" Otaki asked the corpse, placing the paper back down where he had found it. The woman's head hadn't been found yet, and he couldn't help but think that the murderer had brought it with them. On the center of the woman's chest, someone had placed a small, silver crucifix, possibly the culprit. Perhaps it was some kind of calling card, Otaki wondered, shuddering at the thought of seeing another serial murderer in Osaka. He ordered someone to take it in for analysis once the initial crime scene investigation was over.

The body had been found late at night by the security guard who was doing his rounds, and had noticed that the door to the teacher's room was unlocked, the light still on. Thinking it odd, he checked inside, and was greeted by the woman's corpse. He was currently sitting outside the room, talking to another officer who was trying to get him to calm down. According to the guard, Gabrielle had been well liked by most of the staff and students, although she was a little bit odd. Kept mostly to a liquid diet, claiming that she had special dietary needs, and was never around for class photographs. Other than that, though, she had been described as a bright and cheerful woman, if not somewhat naive, who loved her job and her students. She had once relayed to one of her coworkers that she could never have children, and teaching helped fill up that gap in her heart.

Classes at Yuyake the following day, or rather, today, Otaki thought, glancing down at his watch and noting that the date had indeed changed, had been canceled. The police had called out the principal and vice principal, both of whom had gone white as a sheet upon seeing the corpse in the staff room. Otaki was currently asking the principal some questions about the deceased, trying to find out if there was anyone who could possibly have a grudge against her when a metaphorical storm blew in the front door.

Wide awake despite the late hour, Heiji tracked down Otaki as if he knew where he was already, a look on his face that the older man could only pin as anger. "Otaki-han!" He yelled. "Where is the-" He paused, following Otaki's gaze into the staff room. Upon seeing the corpse, Heiji's expression of anger turned into one of outright _rage_, his hands balling into tight fists. For all that, Heiji didn't go past the door of the staff room, as if some physical force prevented him from entering into it. He stared at the corpse with that expression for a long time, as if trying to burn the image into his memories, before he finally turned back to Otaki, not appearing any calmer.

Otaki had always known Heiji as someone prone to emotion (the phrase 'hot blooded' came to mind), but this amount of anger over a murder was unusual even for him, as horrible as it was. That, and if Otaki didn't miss his guess, it seemed as if Heiji _knew _something about this situation that he didn't. While it was possible he had gotten the information from somewhere else, it seemed slightly strange that Heiji had come here, seemingly expecting to find a corpse. "Hei-chan, do you know what time it is?" He found himself asking stupidly, momentarily at a loss for other words.

"I know." Heiji snapped, then heaved a sigh, trying to calm himself. It wasn't Otaki's fault that this had happened. "I know, Otaki-han. Can ya just fill me in on this?" He asked him. He had been on his way home after a bite to eat, when he had passed by Yuyake. The sensation that overcame him then was unlike anything he had felt before, and he realized that something was decidedly _wrong_. The closer he came, the stronger this feeling became, and he realized the reason behind it. Hearing the name of the deceased only confirmed his suspicions, as he recalled that Gabrielle was an elementary school teacher.

Mitsuta had warned him that they existed. Mitsuta had warned him that they were without mercy. Mitsuta had warned him that they didn't care about what kind of person you were, what kind of life you lead.

All they wanted to do was kill you.

Mitsuta had explained to him that it was common practice for vampire hunters to track down the 'weakest link' in a vampire society. They would get close to them, befriend them, talk to them, gain their trust, and would wait- wait for the day when they told them. Wait for the day when they got everything they wanted out of them, waited for them to pull them into 'that world'. Then taking that knowledge, they would wipe out the vampire and all of it's companions, before moving onto another city where vampires had been reported. They worked together, in some kind of group, shady and secretive. When the police began to investigate the murders, they would always pull strings, seeing to it that the investigations were halted, and no persecutions were carried out.

If vampires weren't human, then why should human justice apply to them? The rule of law was created in order to protect humans- and vampires were anything but humans. That was the argument they presented, influencing the right people with it. And Heiji didn't like it one bit. It was _wrong_. Even if he was still human, he would still find it wrong. He'd only known her for a day, and yet, it was enough to tell that this woman, Gabrielle, would never dream of hurting anyone. She trusted people easily, naive despite her years, and they had taken advantage of that.

So Heiji was angry. _Furious _in fact. He wasn't going to let them get away with this, not this time. He hadn't thought he'd run into vampire hunters so soon, but it was perfect. He would send them a warning that they couldn't do what they pleased, at least not in Osaka.

Half listening as Otaki filled him in on the details, Heiji fixed his gaze on the headless corpse, finding himself unable to so much as enter the room. There was something keeping him out, some sort of barrier. Glancing at the bottom of the doorway, he could see two crosses etched onto the bottom of the door. Some kind of magic, he wondered, being unfamiliar with the stuff himself. Halfway through Otaki's explanation, he looked over at him, cutting him off. "The culprit is someone she knows." He told him. "Someone she met recently, but has come to trust implicitly."

"You seem pretty sure of that."

Heiji turned around, meeting his father's eyes. It was rare that Heizo would come out to a crime scene these days, most of his work being administrative in nature, but he had come when he caught wind of the fact that his son was here. And for another reason as well. This reminded him of a case he'd encountered in his youth, a case that had mysteriously been halted, all investigation stopped. When he tried to look into what and who was behind it, Heizo had met a dead end. It was something that had always bothered him to this day- it didn't seem right. He had a strange feeling that they would see another such order coming in an hour or two, thus haste was required.

"Ah." Heiji dropped his father's gaze, looking back into the room, raking his brain for a plausible reason. "She wasn't taken by surprise until they came right up ta her. There's no way she couldn't have heard the door openin'. Probably someone she trusted, who turned out not to be such a great person." He told them, deciding not to go with the explanation of 'oh my doctor told me that this is how vampire hunters operate, by the way, she an' I are both vampires, neat huh?'.

Because _that _didn't sound crazy to a normal person _at all._

"I see." Heizo observed, entering into the room and taking in the scene himself. He had the feeling that there was something his son wasn't telling him, which was as much his instincts as a father as it was a detective's. "Do we have an address for her?" He asked Otaki. "We might discover more if we search her home."

"Yes, we sent some officers over there to see if they could turn anything up." Otaki said. As if on cue, his phone rang, and he picked it up, frowning a little as he talked to the person on the other end. After a few minutes, he hung up. "That was them. It seems they've found some _strange _things in her apartment."

* * *

"There was nothing but cans of iced tea and blood bags in her freezer." One of the officers explained, sounding just as confused as anyone else. Anyone but Heiji, Heizo noted, who had lingered outside of the door for some reason, until he had told him to get inside already. His son had a serious expression on his face, tinted with the anger from earlier that hadn't left him yet.

"Some discarded and empty blood bags were found in the garbage cans as well." The officer reported. "From the traces of blood clinging to them, it appeared that they did contain blood at some time. There appears to be... traces of saliva on the edges of some of them. It's almost as if someone _drank _from them." He said, as if he couldn't believe what he was telling his superior officers- but there it was. "We also found some strange things in her bedroom as well. Multiple records of identity, all with different names, histories, and birth dates, dating back to the 1800s. Not a single photograph in the house as well." He told them. "I- quite frankly, sirs, I don't know what to make of it."

Off to the side, Heiji muttered some comment underneath his breath, and Heizo gave him a strange look. When he caught his father looking at him, Heiji turned away. Heizo took this chance to get a good, hard look at his son. His gaze fell on his right eye, still concealed underneath a medical eyepatch. He'd taken a good look at what was under it previously, however. Like many other things these days, his son was mum on to where he had gotten such a burn scar from over his right eye, and refused to have it looked at by a doctor, claiming that he had already done so. Heizo found himself concerned by the discoloration in his right eye, wondering if his son was suffering from any vision damage, though this didn't seem to be the case.

"Hei-chan, if you know something about this, you need to tell us." Otaki said, catching the tension between father and son.

Heiji seemed to consider the question, scratching the back of his head. "I knew her, a little." He said finally. "Kazuha an' I met her yesterday." He told them. "We chatted in a cafe. She seemed really nice." He told the two police officers, lips twisted into a bitter smile. "She seemed kinda naive, though. Like she would trust anyone who just waltzed through her door. Kazuha liked her, they were going to meet ta talk more." Heiji half-lied. It was true that Kazuha had liked her, and it was true that she had wanted to talk with her more.

Of course, she would never get that chance now.

"I see." Otaki frowned deeply. That would explain why Heiji was so angry about this, he thought. Things changed when you knew the person, however briefly. "And did she mention at the time that she felt like she was in any danger at all? Or that there was anything bothering her?" He asked him.

"No, not at all. She seemed perfectly happy." Heiji told him, frowning as he watched the police officers go about her apartment, looking for anything that might help with their investigation. Outside, Heiji could hear people gathering, neighbors exchanging words with each other as they began to learn about what had happened to Gabrielle. The initial reaction was horror, but it wasn't long until someone commented on what a 'strange woman' she was. From there, Heiji could only imagine that the rumor mill would go straight downhill, especially if the contents of her fridge were leaked.

"There will probably be more bodies though..." Heiji mumbled, and although his voice was low, his father caught it, and glanced over at him, raising an eyebrow.

"You seem sure of that, too." Heizo observed.

Heiji met his gaze briefly, before turning away, glancing out the window. "Call it intuition."

* * *

True to Heiji's word, another body had turned up that night, this one a young child who appeared to be somewhere around the age of ten. Although people had commented that they had seen him and talked to him before, nobody could really recall that much information about him. He seemed to go by the name of 'Kazuki', however, and seemed to be a runaway. He appeared sometime around seven or eight months ago and was noted as being next to impossible to track down if he didn't want to be found. The people in the neighborhood claimed that they had only ever seen him at night, and thought that he was a bit of a strange boy, and somewhat unpleasant overall, surly even. He let few people get close to him, and seemed to be much older than his appearance let on.

It was the same situation there as well. The boy had been found in the corner of an alleyway, by a young woman who had chased her runaway dog there. The headless corpse was slumped over a bag of garbage, a crucifix placed on it's chest. According to the young woman, apparently she had encountered Heiji before the police had arrived, who had left Gabrielle's apartment sometime before Heizo and Otaki had. He hadn't given his name, for a change, but Heizo knew from the description she gave that she meant his son. He had apparently asked her to move two discarded beer cans that had been placed in front of the alley entrance way, which she gave to Heizo. Looking them over, he turned them upside down to realize that they had cross marks etched into the bottom of the cans. There had been other cross marks found at the scene of the first murder too, a total of eight. Sure enough, other cans with cross marks etched into the bottoms were found here.

There was also a gaping hole in the brick wall on the opposite side of Kazuki's body, which the young woman commented that the 'strange boy', as she described Heiji, had made himself. Shining a flashlight through it, Heizo realized that he could see clear through it into the building. Hattori Heizo was no fool- he knew that wasn't normal. Whatever was going on with these murders, he also knew that somehow his son had gotten himself mixed up in it, in a manner that was more than just having briefly met the first victim.

* * *

That was the last body for the night, but an hour after it had been found, an order had come in from a higher office that declared that the investigations into the deaths of Yamaguchi Gabrielle and 'Kazuki' be put 'on hold' until further notice. When Heiji heard about this, Heizo could have sworn it looked like his son wanted to throttle someone. His anger still wasn't cooled the next day, when he went to school, rather unwillingly. He had ended up skipping his entire first period, locating himself a nice part of the roof and made a phone call.

"Oi, Kudo, ya got a sec?" Heiji asked, lying down on the roof. "I need ta talk to ya. Whadda ya mean ya got class? It's _first grade_ Kudo, ya ain't gonna miss anythin' by missin' one class. Ya already been there once, come on."

"Alright, what is it?" Conan asked, sneaking out of the classroom, glad that classes hadn't quite started yet, and headed to the restroom, where he hid himself. "It better be important, Hattori." Somehow though, Conan sensed that it was. It was something about Heiji's tone of voice that got to him. He knew without having to ask that his friend was angry.

"Oh, it's important alright. Two headless corpses have turned up over here." Heiji told him. "One of them was the vampire lady I met yesterday. Remember, I told ya 'bout her."

There was a long pause on the other side of the phone, the sound of Conan's breathing the only thing letting him know that he was still on the other side of the line. "I see." He said finally. "Hattori, do you think it's...?"

"Vampire hunters. No doubt." Heiji told him, placing a hand over his face. "She was a nice person, Kudo. Neechan woulda loved her." He told him. "I don't know about the other kid. Just a child by appearance, but probably a lot older than that." He managed a small chuckle then. "Not like you of course. I could tell though."

"Be careful, Hattori. Do you need me to come to Osaka? I could find a way." Conan began, but Heiji cut him off.

"Not yet Kudo. If I'm havin' trouble, I'll call ya in though. And I know, I know my life might be on the line here as well. Kazuha wouldn't shut up about it earlier." Heiji frowned. On one hand, as she had only met him the day before her murder, the vampire hunter might not know about him. If he didn't involve himself, he could just sit back in the safety of his home, and not have to worry about them. But Heiji couldn't do that. Innocent people were being killed, and there was no way that he could ignore that. He would never forgive himself if he did.

"If you're sure. How's the investigation going?" Conan asked.

"Officially?" Heiji shook his head, then recalled Conan couldn't see him. "It's 'on hold'. Order came in early this mornin'. From way high up, it looks like, don't know who exactly. The old man's angry about it, I can tell he is."

"Have you got any leads?" Conan asked.

"Yeah. If I look into recent acquaintances of Yamaguchi-han, I'm sure ta turn somethin' up. They're still active, probably haven't had time ta fully cover their tracks." Heiji told him. "Once they leave, I'll never be able ta find 'em though."

"Hattori." There was a pause on the other side of the phone, as if Conan was considering his words. "You're not thinking of making yourself into bait, are you?"

"Whatever gave you that impression, Kudo?" Heiji laughed, not having to ask to tell his friend could see right through him. As much as he _hated _to admit it, Kudo was probably the better detective out of the two of them. "What else am I supposed ta do, Kudo? I can't let this stand, and there's _no way_ they'll overlook it if the son of the Superintendent Supervisor of the Osakan Police Force has been attacked." He told him. "Don't worry though, Kudo. I have no intention of dyin'. Once was quite enough, thank you. I'd like ta not try it again fer awhile."

"Just... be careful Hattori." Conan said again, rubbing his forehead. "I have to go. Kobayashi-sensei is looking for me. But watch your back, because I can't watch it for you."

"Will do." Heiji said, before hanging up, tucking his phone away. Talking with Kudo always helped him clear his mind somewhat, and standing up, stretching a little, he decided to go back to class.

* * *

Going back to class was a mistake.

He'd expected them to come sooner or later, the rumor mill always being rather impressive. But he hadn't expected them to come quite so _soon_. Second period had turned out to be self study, their normal teacher having to run out on a family emergency all of a sudden. Most of the class was not studying however, but rather, they were chattering amongst themselves, about these latest murders.

"I heard a rumor." One girl whispered. "That they only found blood bags in her fridge. Isn't that gross?"

"Eh, no way!" Another girl gasped, looking shocked. "Does this mean she was a vampire or something?"

"Vampires _aren't real_." Another girl interjected, glancing up from her book. "Probably just some kind of fetishist. Or someone involved in some sort of underhanded business."

"It's obviously vampires!" A boy protested. "I mean come on, never showed up for photographs, liquid diet? Not to mention the crucifix and the corpse having no head. Can't be anything else. That and I heard that when they did a blood test on the corpse, they found that her blood was made up of a whole bunch of different blood types! Cause you know, it wasn't really _her _blood."

"Yeah, and the little boy was never seen during the day." The first girl agreed. "Isn't that scary? To imagine that there are vampires, right here in Osaka. And one of them was teaching little children? What do you think she was planning? Was she going to eat them?"

"Come on, guys." Kazuha interjected, nervously glancing over towards Heiji during this. She could tell from the look on his face that he was getting ready to blow his top, and she wanted to prevent this. "Vampires aren't real, like Takako-chan said. I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for everything- the blood thing is probably just a rumor anyways. I mean, you know my father's a police officer, and I didn't hear _anything _about that." She had, of course, but if lying could help salvage the situation, then she would lie until she was blue in the face.

"Aw, c'mon Kazuha." The boy half pouted. "It's gotta be vampires. But now we've got a vampire hunter or something in the town, so we can sleep safely!" He proudly proclaimed, grinning. "Don't have to worry about guarding your neck." He laughed, acting as if he had made a great joke.

"That's right! Vampires are scary!" The second girl said, nodding her head. Takako, the girl with the book, merely rolled her eyes, disgusted with this topic, and turned back to her novel. The second girl, however, turned to Kazuha. "We should be grateful that someone is taking care of vampires! Right, Kazuha? I always thought you believed in that sort of stuff. Don't you feel safer without those two on the streets?"

The sound of Heiji slamming his hands against his desk quickly silenced the class, however. "Sleep safely?" Heiji asked him, glaring straight at the boy, then turning towards the second girl, who all but wilted underneath his gaze. "_Grateful? _Two people are dead- one of them a little kid, an' here you all are chatterin' away 'bout how happy you are that they're dead! _Vampires_? What the hell are ya talkin' about? All yer doin' is dismissin' the crimes of a murderer, a deluded one at that. Are ya even usin' yer heads?" He asked them, standing up.

"What the hell is _wrong _with you people?" Heiji almost hissed, eyes narrowing. "Show some respect fer the dead, fer fuck's sake." He told them, before grabbing his bag. "I'm leavin'. Kazuha, if the teachers ask where I'm gone, tell 'em I'm investigatin' some _murders_."

"Heiji, wait!" Kazuha called out, standing up, but he was already gone, out the door. Sighing, she slumped back down in her seat, elbows on her desk as she put her head in her hands. There was a heavy silence in the room after that, the students of the class glancing back and forth between each other. After a few moments, Kazuha took in and let out a deep breath, grabbing her own bag and she headed out of the classroom to follow Heiji. She got out the door, shutting it behind her, when she was pulled to the side, a cold hand covering her mouth.

Heiji glanced down at her, shaking his head, and telling her to be quiet. Frowning, she glanced over towards the classroom, beginning to hear the sounds of talking again, as if they had been waiting for her to leave. She could just make out what they were saying, but she knew that Heiji could hear every single word of it.

"I've never seen Hattori-kun so angry before." Takako observed, glancing over at the rest of the class members. "Well, you deserved it though. What were you idiots thinking, mouthing off about being glad someone was dead in front of the so-called Great Detective of the West?"

"Don't you think he was _too _angry?" The first girl, Hikari, said after a moment. "He was acting like we were personally attacking him."

"That's right, don't you find it a little weird, Takako?" The boy, named Jin, asked. "Hattori-kun's been super weird as of late, ever since he got back from that trip a month ago. Haven't you noticed that he never seems to eat anymore?"

"He probably eats elsewhere. There are plenty of students who don't eat lunch here." Takako said, glancing over at Jin, lowering her book and giving him a skeptical look. "Oh for... Yuasa-kun, you're surely not suggesting that _Hattori Heiji _is a vampire."

"I wasn't suggesting it." Jin said, spreading his hands and shrugging his shoulders. "I was just saying it was kind of strange."

"That's right! Now that I think about it, my mother says she saw Hattori-kun wandering around late the other night. A _lot _of people have seen him at night lately. Yet he never seems tired!" Hikari recalled. "Plus, have you touched him lately? He feels like ice!"

"It's true!" The second girl, Fuuko, said. "Besides you guys, haven't you noticed Kazuha-chan lately? Her _neck _mainly. She's always wearing bandages over it these days, like she's got something to hide. He's probably tricking her into giving him her blood. Poor Kazuha-chan!"

"Oh for." Heiji could almost _hear _the glower in Takako's voice. "You people are _absurd_. Hattori-kun can't be a vampire because _vampires aren't real. _He _is _however, a detective, or something of one at least. _Of course_ he's going to be pissed off if he hears people spreading terrible rumors about the deceased. He'll probably even more pissed if he had any idea of the complete bull you're talking about now."

"But, did you hear about the incident with Yamada-san?" Fuuko asked her. "You know, the junior of his in the kendo club. He was super scared of Hattori-kun recently, before he transferred. That's why he transferred you know, because he was scared of Hattori-kun! Everyone says so. Plus, he always said that he had a sixth sense or something like that."

Kazuha's eyes narrowed in anger, barely able to believe that her own classmates could talk about Heiji like this. Didn't they know him? Heiji wasn't like that at all! And she gave her blood _willingly _to Heiji, damnit. Turning to him, she took his wrist, giving him a look and shaking her head. He didn't need to hear this. "Come on, Heiji." Kazuha said in a low voice. "Why don't we go work on solving that case? I'll help."

With such determination in her voice, Heiji found it hard to refuse her, and let her lead him down the hall and out of the school.

* * *

It had been awhile since Kazuha had followed Heiji while he was working, and it was kind of nice to see for a change. Even if it meant that the pair was technically skipping school, garnering some strange looks as they walked about in their school uniforms, she didn't really mind. When Heiji switched his baseball cap around to wear it the right way, Kazuha smiled a little, glad for the familiarity of it. And yet, she was worried about Heiji. He wasn't talking to her as they went from place to place, investigating the recent acquaintances of the deceased Gabrielle.

Heiji had always been the kind of person to blow off rumors and people speaking bad of him (unless it was comparing him to Shinichi Kudo, which he couldn't stand), but this seemed to bother him. She wasn't sure that it was because they were speaking ill of the dead, or because they were happily saying that they thought vampires were a menace, or because they were getting into the truth, and yet, still misconceiving it. Most likely it was all of the above. Either way, it made Kazuha not want to leave his side, and she could sense that he was grateful for it. His mood eventually mellowed as they walked, and eventually, he started talking, sharing his theories with her.

There was some part of her though, that wanted to insist that Heiji should stay out of this case. He was too close, in too much danger, and she had this strange feeling in the pit of her stomach that something terrible might happen if he continued down this path. But Kazuha _knew _Heiji, and she knew that he wouldn't give up on a case, no matter what, even if it meant putting himself in danger.

"Heiji?" Kazuha asked. "Let me see your charm for a second."

"Eh?" Heiji blinked, then pulled out his cell phone, from which his charm dangled. "What do ya need it fer, Kazuha?"

"Just give it here." She said, snatching it off his cell phone. It had pleased her a little when she realized that the charm she had made for Heiji didn't harm him, perhaps because it was made with his safety in mind. Clasping the charm in between her hands, Kazuha focused her thoughts, trying to pour her good energy into it, and her wishes that Heiji stay safe. She didn't know if it would do any good, but she wanted to at least try. After all, it had saved Conan once, so it worked, right?

"Here." Kazuha handed it back after a moment. "I was just recharging it with my love." She told him, her face growing red as she spoke the words. _What the hell was up with that damn cheesy line? _She thought to herself, blushing more when Heiji laughed, but smiling a little when he flashed that grin of his again. Now that was the Heiji she knew.

"Thank ya, then." Heiji said, taking the charm from her, and turning it over in his hands for a moment, before he latched it back onto his cell phone. "It's good ta know someone is lookin' out fer me." He said, pausing to kiss her on the cheek.

Blushing, Kazuha lightly batted him away. "Idiot, we're in public." She scolded him. "Besides, you should be focusing on your investigation right now. We've talked to like five people anyways, do you have any ideas yet, Heiji?"

"Some." Heiji told her, glancing down at the notebook he had been using to jot down information in. They had met five people, all who had come to know Gabrielle in the past year. None of them seemed suspicious at first glance, and known of them seemed to react to him in any way. Then again, Heiji didn't imagine it would be that easy, either. Out of the five of them, he had dismissed only one of the suspects, due to the fact that she had been in a wheelchair and was cared for by a live in nurse.

That left four people, all of them women, as it turned out. The first person he had spoken to was an American woman, who went by the name of Claire Grady. She was a short, soft spoken women, who spoke Japanese well enough to be understood, but not anything Heiji could call fluent. He'd spoken to her in English, and she seemed to be delighted to have been spoken to in her mother tongue. With pale blonde hair and bright blue eyes, she seemed to be a delicate beauty, but Heiji knew better than to judge people by their appearances.

The second suspect was a thirty year old woman, Sawamura Yomi, who worked at the same school as Gabrielle, filling in for someone who had to take time off for family reasons. She was tall, and rather muscular looking, and had almost turned Heiji away at first. He'd eventually coaxed her into talking to him, and found her to be somewhat unpleasant. He wondered what Gabrielle had seen in her, then recalled the personality of the deceased woman, and suddenly, everything made sense.

The third suspect was named Okubo Karen, a recent high school graduate who had moved to Osaka to attend university there. She seemed a jovial enough young woman, but what seemed to be her usual joy was dampened somewhat by the passing off a friend. Like Claire, she was a short but slightly muscular woman, having strong arms. She was apparently on the swimming team, if the trophies and photographs in her living room had been any indication. She was also the only one who had invited them inside.

The fourth and final suspect was a young woman named Fujioka Mizuki, of average height and build. To say that she was a rather unremarkable woman was putting it mildly. There was nothing, nothing at all that jumped out about her at Heiji, and he could barely remember what she looked like even though he had just seen her. That struck him has odd, but perhaps it had nothing to do with anything, and she was just a naturally forgettable woman.

"I think it's that Yomi woman." Kazuha said after a moment.

"Why?" Heiji asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Because she looks the toughest, you know?" Kazuha said. "Plus she's so _unpleasant_!"

Heiji laughed a little. "That doesn't mean she's the one. Just because they're a vampire hunter doesn't mean they have to look strong. They can come up with ways to compensate for lack of strength. I mean," Heiji said. "They are fighting vampires, after all, so they probably have some tricks up their sleeves. Well, even if vampires are strong, a lot of 'em don't know how to fight properly, so against someone whose trained, their strength only does 'em some good."

"I see." Kazuha nodded, considering this. "Which one do you think it is, Heiji?"

"Hm." Heiji frowned, mulling over the question. Claire was suspicious due to being a foreigner, as Mitsuta had once remarked that most vampire hunters came from overseas. However, that didn't mean that _all _vampire hunters were foreigners, there were Japanese ones as well. Furthermore, 'Karen' could be a foregin as well as a Japanese name, so she was perhaps not the only one, either. Her personality didn't seem to lend itself much to hunting vampires either, unless she was faking it and all of her reactions. It would be hard, but not impossible, so she wasn't off the suspect list. When he had asked, she claimed that she had been out watching a movie by herself when the first murder happened, and asleep when the second had.

Yomi, as Kazuha had mentioned, was the most physically fit out of the group. She was obviously strong, and didn't have a great personality to boot. However, Heiji couldn't help but think that she would have put more effort into being nicer if she were really trying to win over Gabrielle. He had heard from all of her other friends that they all thought Yomi was unpleasant, so it wasn't like she had been acting nice up until now, and had suddenly decided to drop it. She claimed that what she was doing at those times yesterday was none of his business, and if he wanted to know, he better come back with a warrant of some kind.

Karen was the youngest, but Heiji supposed that didn't matter in this case. He had checked her claims about being a college student, and they had turned out to be true. However, that didn't mean that it wasn't just a cover, a means to approach Gabrielle without raising suspicions from the vampire community at large. Her swimming experience would have also made her physically fit, in spite of her slight build, and from the looks of the trophies, she had also been very good at it. The fact that she had so easily invited him in made him wonder, however. She said that she had been studying at the library for a test at the time of the first murder, and asleep during the second.

Lastly, there was Mizuki, whose strangest trait was being so utterly unremarkable. It was as if she put an effort into being so mundane, that nobody could recall anything about her. That raised all sorts of red flags about her, but on the other hand, that meant that she was the only one who seemed to obviously be the culprit. It wasn't like Heiji hadn't met people before who were just so utterly average that they sort of faded into the background. She claimed that she was in the public bath house at the time of the first murder, and was out drinking at the time of the second murder.

"It's hard to say at this point." He admitted, glancing over at her. "I need more information. Check on the alibis of Grady-han, Okubo-han, an' Fujioka-han. Try to find out Sawamura-han's alibi." He said, rolling his eyes. It really would have been better for her if she'd just given him one.

"What are you going to do if you find out who it is, Heiji?" Kazuha asked.

Heiji shrugged, glancing down at her. "Someone from the top might have ordered the investigation to be put on hold, but if I can confront them with enough evidence, they'll have ta act." He told her. "Sides, if I know my old man, he's pissed as hell that someone would _dare _to interfere with one of his investigations. He's probably still lookin' into the matter in secret. He was pretty angry this mornin'."

"Not quite as angry as you were, Heiji." Kazuha said after a moment, taking his hand and holding it in her own. "You need to cool down a bit. It's not good for you."

"I know." Heiji said, closing his hand around hers, smiling a little. "I'm tryin' not ta let it get to me. Easier said than done though, as it turns out!" He shook his head. "I just don't really _understand _it Kazuha. I know what Mitsuta-han said, that there are some bad seeds out there- hell, I wouldn't be like this right now if there weren't, but is that any reason to just..." his eyes narrowed, stretching out his free hand in front of him, clenching it in a fist. "_...hate _us so much? I know what the myths and legends say, but the myths and legends are wrong. Or at least, blown out of proportion."

"I don't know." Kazuha frowned, mulling it over. "Personal experience with bad seeds might be able to speak for some of them, but you think they would notice _eventually _that not all vampires are like that? Especially this one, what with hanging around Yamaguchi-san and all! It could be just prejudice, plain and simple."

"Could be." Heiji said with a small sigh, before flashing a grin at Kazuha. "But yer right, Kazuha. I have been gettin' too worked up. It's not a good feelin' though, ya know? That out there are people who hate ya just cause ya exist."

"Mm, I would imagine. But _I _like you, Heiji. Conan-kun does too! I'm sure everyone else would still like you, even if they found out the truth." Kazuha told him with a smile, before changing the subject. "Why don't we work on checking on those alibis, then? We should go to the library first, it's the closest!"

* * *

"So the only alibi that checked out was the one of the American woman's?" Conan asked over the phone. It was late in the evening now, and he'd called to check up on Heiji, and maybe rub some brain cells together. "Still, they only claimed that she came to buy a ticket to the movie- there's nobody who said they saw her watching it, right?"

"Yeah, so she still could have sneaked out durin' or before the movie." Heiji said. "The start of the movie an' when she bought ticket was still half an hour 'afore the first murder, so she would still have had plenty of time ta get over to Yuyake. It was only a block or two from the theater." He said. "Of course, still no idea what Sawamura-han's alibi was. An' nobody remembered seein' Fujioka-han or Okubo-han, either."

"Sounds like you have your work cut out for you then, Hattori." Conan sympathized over the phone. "How are you holding up over there?"

"Better than I was this mornin'." Heiji admitted. "Kazuha's worried I'm gonna let my temper get the best of me. Need ta remember to try an' take it easy. But really, ya know there's already rumors going around?" He told him over the phone, then rolled his eyes. "I think even _you _would want ta throttle some of these folks, Kudo."

"Well, take it easy, Hattori." Conan said, then frowned. "Where are you right now, anyways? I hear a lot of noise."

"Patrol, I guess." Heiji told him, laughing a little. He had dropped Kazuha off at her house a few hours ago, and had been wandering around town since then. He had returned home briefly, to get a drink from one of his emergency blood packs, then had headed out an hour or so later. The sun had set by now, and Heiji had a feeling that there would be more bodies coming tonight. "I just can't sit still durin' all of this. Kinda nice to not need to sleep, though it can get a little boring at times." He admitted.

"Well, don't do anything reckless." Conan warned him, though he had a feeling that telling Heiji that wouldn't do a whole lot of good. He was reckless by nature, and while Conan could be at times, Heiji was a hell of a lot worse than him.

"Don't worry, Kudo!" Heiji assured him, grinning. "Both you and Kazuha worry too much. Well, I'm going to hang up now. Say hi to Neechan fer me, okay?" With that, Heiji closed his phone, tucking it away. He'd forgone the eyepatch for the moment, the dull throbbing in his right eye that had been bothering him having all but faded away. Keeping his senses on high alert, he walked around the city, taking in the night life that went on about him.

For the most part, the evening passed on without any events to speak of, save for a drunkard or two picking on some young girls, which Heiji had quickly put a stop to. It was nearing one in the morning when Heiji found himself in one of Osaka's many shopping centers, now closed for the night, everyone mostly having gone to sleep. It was strange, to see streets that were usually bustling so quiet and lifeless. He was mulling over this when he caught something at the edge of his hearing, and frowned, heading in the direction the sound came from, leaving the shopping district and heading into a nearby residential district. He sped up a little as he drew closer, realizing that something was wrong.

A crash, a clatter, what sounded like a muffled scream, and then a loud thud. Narrowing his eyes, Heiji stopped briefly, uprooting a nearby traffic sign to use as a makeshift weapon, when he heard _it_. The sound sent a shiver down his spine and he probably could have gone his entire life without hearing it, the sound of a bladed weapon being drawn through blood and bone, followed by a dull thud. There was silence then, as Heiji approached the back street from which the sounds were coming from.

Before him lay what must have once been a young woman, a little bit younger than the age Gabrielle had appeared. Her headless corpse was lying at what appeared to be her own front door, chalk crosses drawn around the house, most likely eight of them. Vaguely, he recalled that Mitsuta had once mentioned that the number eight was important to vampire hunters. But again, Heiji didn't understand a whole lot about magic.

Standing with the woman's head dangling by the hair from her hand was another woman, of average height, her face and hair concealed by a hat and mask, and her overall body figure obscured by the large, and rather unseasonable coat that she wore. Mentally, Heiji ran through the suspects, the woman's height alone being enough to rule out Sawamura Yomi. Someone of short stature could wear shoes with hidden height to make them appear taller, but making oneself appear _shorter _was another matter entirely. Strangely, Heiji noted that she had no scent, perhaps using something to mask it.

"Murderin' her right in her own home even. That's not very nice." Heiji observed, keeping one hand clutched on to the borrowed street sign. He caught sight of a strange looking dagger in the woman's free hand, which had a faint glimmer to it. He also took note of the large duffel bag that the woman was carrying around, which was probably what she was planning on stuffing the head in. She was rather unfazed at having been witnessed, and instead casually placed the head inside the bag, as she had been doing when Heiji had arrived.

The woman said nothing, carefully placing the duffel bag down next to her. But Heiji watched the way her body tensed, tightening it's grip on the dagger. "But it's hardly a murder." She spoke finally, her voice seeming distorted in a strange way. Something was behind that as well, Heiji figured. "It's justice."

"Sorry lady, but justice and murder don't go together in my book. If it were justice, ya wouldn't have to work quietly under the cover of darkness, right?" Heiji remarked, arching an eyebrow, not taking his eyes off of her. "Ya gonna come quietly, or do we have ta do this by force?"

"Hmph." The woman almost seemed to laugh. "How amusing. A vampire playing pretend detective, a monster trying to lecture _me _about justice. Well, it's convenient for me that you tracked me down by yourself. Saves time." With that remark, the woman burst forward, dagger flashing through the darkness. She was faster than Heiji had expected, and he blocked with the purloined street sign, only to find the dagger neatly slicing it in half, glowing a little as it did. He frowned a little, pausing to look between the sliced in half street sign and the glimmering dagger.

"Magic weapon, right." Heiji said mostly to himself. "That would explain the easy decapitations." Dodging under another slash of the dagger, Heiji jumped backwards a bit, putting some distance between himself and the hunter. What he wouldn't have given for an actual sword or something- he should have brought one of the wooden swords from home with him. He didn't have much time to mull over this however, as the hunter was coming towards him again. This time he moved the makeshift weapon, dodging the dagger strike and jammed it against the hand that she had held it in. The woman's eyes went wide, and she let out a howl of pain, dropping the dagger, unable to keep her grip on it. Heiji took this chance, planting his foot on it, and kicking it halfway down the street, well out of her grasp.

Making sure to control his strength, Heiji gave the woman a firm boot to the stomach, knocking her back. There was a _woosh _as the air was knocked right out of her, and she stumbled back, clutching at her stomach, now useless left hand frozen against it. Drawing closer to her, Heiji realized a bit too late that the woman was down, but not out, as she carefully swept him off his feet with a well placed low kick. The world spinning in his head for a moment after his head connected with concrete, he missed it as the woman donned a pair of darkly tinted glasses, pulling out a small, round object from her coat and smashed it against the ground just as Heiji pulled himself up.

The light that consumed the area was blinding, and filled up Heiji's area of vision as he got to his feet. He could hear the woman moving again, the sound of an additional dagger being pulled out from her coat, presumably now using her right hand. Relying on the sound of her footsteps, he avoided a fatal blow to the neck, but he could feel the dagger tracing it, making a large gash in it. Gagging a little as he felt the blood flow down from it, he grabbed at his neck, dropping the makeshift street sign weapon, vision still not returning to him. The woman, not satisfied with that, went in for another killing strike, but this too, Heiji managed to avoid.

Or at least, that was the plan. The plan _wasn't_ for the dagger to take his right arm clean off instead. Howling in pain, Heiji stumbled back, his mind momentarily going blank from it. His vision was still engulfed in a sea of white, eyes not cooperating with his brain. It was then that he heard the sound of footsteps, and the vague sound of an unexpected cry of surprise from the woman. There was the sound of a brief clash, and then the sound of footsteps, the woman's, Heiji noted. From what he could hear, she had grabbed the duffel bag, and had taken off, scooping up the first dagger that Heiji had kicked away on the way. The sound of sirens could be heard far off in the distance, and Heiji struggled to focus his thoughts, his head swimming.

And he still couldn't _see_.

But he knew that other set of footsteps, that heartbeat, and that voice that was calling out his name, of course he knew it. Hands grasped firmly onto his shoulders, and Heiji knew those too.

"...Old man?" Heiji asked, feeling, but not seeing, his father looking at him.

"Heiji, you complete _fool_!" Heizo called out, trying to get his son's eyes to focus on him. He let out a rather uncharacteristic swear as he was realized the extent of his son's wounds, starting with the deep gash along his throat, and of course, the missing arm, which was lying a bit behind Heiji. It was a miracle that he was still alive. He was right to go looking for him when he had returned home late that night from work, to find him nowhere in sight. Somehow, Heizo had a bad feeling. "There's an ambulance on the way, hold still while I try and do something about this."

"Can't, no ambulances." Heiji croaked, having trouble speaking what with the large gash in his throat and all. If he still needed to breathe, he would have probably been dead. He could feel it start to close up already though. Not so much for his missing arm, Heiji felt as if that would take more time. "No hospitals."

"Heiji, your throat has been gutted like a fish, shut up about not going to the hospital." Heizo snapped. Even as he said that though, he noticed. There was no more blood flowing from either of the wounds, when there should have been an ample amount of it. Everything he had seen up to this point told him that his son should really _already _be dead. But as Heizo watched, the deep gash across his son's throat began to close by itself, eventually fading as if it had never been there at all. For once, Heizo caught himself gaping, but quickly closed his mouth, staring at his son with hard eyes for a long moment as he considered this... strange development.

"No hospitals?" Heizo asked.

"_Can't._" Heiji repeated. "I know a doctor, though."

"And this doctor can treat you?" Heizo asked, unable to keep some skepticism out of his voice. Well, he had just watched his son heal an injury that should have been fatal, so it was to be expected. He frowned then, observing again that his son's eyes seemed to be unable to focus on anything, pupils much too diluted for his tastes, pausing to wave a hand in front of his son's eyes, watching this garner no response from him. "Heiji." He paused, carefully hauling his son to his feet. "Can you _see?"_

"Not unless the world has become drenched in white." Heiji croaked out a joke, his voice still a bit shaky. "If not, no, can't see shit." Heiji remarked, placing a hand over his eyes, closing them and trying to shake off the effects of whatever it was she had- some kind of flash bomb, he guessed. It didn't work, everything was still bright white when he opened them again, and he groaned. Witnessing a flash bomb go off when you had super enhanced vision was probably not on the list of smart things to do.

"Language, son." Heizo couldn't help but find himself scolding the boy.

"Sorry, dad, but _I can't see_ an' I only have one arm. Pardon me if my language is a lil rougher than usual." Heiji pointed out, quirking an eyebrow. "Think it'd give me a free pass." He half pouted.

Heizo merely shook his head. That was unmistakably his son, alright. "Alright, so I won't take you to a hospital, and we'll call this doctor of yours." He said after a moment. "But I expect a full explanation in return, Heiji."

Heiji grimaced a little at that, but he expected it. Then again, if his father was still scolding him normally, then things couldn't be that bad, he figured. Truth be told, he had sort of expected worse. "Alright. Can we do that later though? I want ta get home before anyone else really _sees _me." He asked him, kind of not wanting to get into this here and now. To top things off, he was starting to feel the hunger pains again, having lost too much blood. "An' I need ta call Kazuha." He muttered.

Heizo gave his son a long, considering look. In his condition, he doubted he could run away on his own, and so he eventually nodded his head. "Alright." He said after a moment. A few moments later, they were joined by Otaki, who paused, staring open mouthed at Heiji, who was leaning against his father for support at the moment, half afraid that if he took a step forward, he would slam into some unseen obstacle.

"Oh, hey Otaki-han." Heiji tried to lift up his right arm in greeting then paused, recalling that he didn't have one at the moment. "It's not as bad as it looks?"

"Otaki. Can you take my fool of a son home?" Heizo asked him, giving his old friend a look to suggest that now was not the time for arguing. As his son stumbled off him a bit, leaning against the wall, Heizo frowned, turning his gaze towards where Heiji's right arm lay behind them. Long years of experience enabled him to remove himself from the fact that this was his son's arm he had in his hand. Briefly, he noticed that there appeared to be not temperature change between the rest of Heiji and his removed arm. "You may also want to take this." He told him, picking up the arm. He had a feeling, a strange feeling that he should keep Heiji's confrontation with the murderer to himself for now.

He also had a feeling it was going to be a _long _night.

* * *

Author's Notes: Oops I accidentally was a terrible person.


	11. Truth and Identity

Author's Note: Although a bit delayed by the sudden onset of a brief summer cold, here I am with chapter eleven! Man, have I mentioned Heizo is a really hard character to write for? Because he is. That aside, Detective Conan and it's characters are not mine, but Mitsuta, Karen, Claire are. Next chapter should be the climax of the vampire hunter arc, so look forward to it!

* * *

Blood and Snow

Chapter Eleven: Truth and Identity

Everything moved in something of a blur for Heiji, in both the metaphorical and the literal sense, as his vision was still consumed by that field of white. He couldn't really recall what he had answered half of Otaki's questions with, but they appeared to have made it back to Heiji's home in more or less one piece, save for the piece Heiji was _already _missing, he thought to himself, dryly. He recalled shrugging him off and finding his way to his room, navigating the house through memory and a guiding hand placed on the wall. Collapsing back on his bed, he cringed a little as the hunger pains came again, biting down on his lip, his good arm clutching to his stomach.

Pulling himself up, Heiji managed to find his closet, opening it up and pulling out the locked cooler he had hidden there. After fumbling about for the key for a few minutes to no avail, he eventually let out a growl of frustration, wondering exactly how it was blind people did it, and simply broke the cooler open. He could always buy another one later. Sighing as he got it open, he sat cross legged on the floor, hauling it into his lap. Removing a blood bag, he carefully tore the top off with his teeth. As he sucked out the contents, he felt himself relaxing a little, the hunger pains ebbing away a bit. Placing the empty blood bag back, he pulled out another one, and repeated the process.

Pausing mid-sip, Heiji cocked his head, training his ears, frowning as he heard commotion downstairs. Swallowing the blood, he glanced over towards the door as he heard the sound of pounding footsteps run towards it, the door bursting open a moment later. Following the sound of her heartbeat, Heiji glanced in what must have been the direction in which Kazuha was standing, and heard her sharp intake of breath. He winced a little at it, and gave her a quick grin, plucking the blood bag from between his lips.

"It'll grow back?" Heiji reassured her, but only had time for that before she was upon him, grabbing him by the shoulders and falling to her knees on the floor next to him. "Oi, Kazuha, it's really alright, Kazuha-" Heiji paused then, frowning as he reached up his left hand, moving it towards her face, feeling something wet on it. "Oi, Kazuha, are ya cryin'?"

"Of course, idiot!" Kazuha yelled. "What do you think I was feeling when I got a call from your father saying that you were badly hurt?" She sniffled a little, pausing to wipe away some tears from her eyes. "I was so worried! You told me you would be careful, not that you'd go and get your arm cut off! You can't even _see_, Heiji! You idiot, idiot,_ idiot! _Idiot king!" She shook him rather violently during that last part, before calming down, though still clutching his shoulders tightly.

"Well, I'm still alive, right?" Heiji asked with a small laugh. "Well, I mean so ta speak bein' that the whole... nevermind, Kazuha, I'm okay. I'll live an' heal up." He promised her, lowering his good arm and wrapping it around her waist, pulling her close, half-drunken blood bag half forgotten in his cooler. "Come on, stop cryin'. I'll be fine."

Sniffing a little, Kazuha nodded her head. "I'm still mad at you." She said after a moment. "If your father hadn't found you, you might be _dead_, Heiji. What were you thinking?"

"I was thinkin' that she wouldn't have flash bombs on her." Heiji gave her a helpless shrug. "_Generally _that's usually a pretty good assumption, but I guess I was wrong. Ah, that's right, Kazuha, can ya call Mitsuta-han fer me?" He asked her, waving what was left of his right arm about. "I _probably _should get this looked at, an' I don't exactly trust my blind phone dialin' skills."

"Alright, I will. Give me your phone." Kazuha said, and Heiji handed it over. Wiping away her tears, she stood up, and left Heiji to finish the contents of his second blood bag. Finishing it off, he put it back and tossed the broken lid back on the cooler, shoving it into a corner for the moment. He listened in as Kazuha made the phone call and smiled a little at her after she hung up.

"She said she'll be coming over right away, and that it doesn't sound like it's anything that's going to be serious." Kazuha reported, handing Heiji his phone back. He took it, and set it aside, on top of the broken cooler. "Really, sometimes I think it would be better if we never went on that ski trip. Then you wouldn't be getting into all of this trouble all the time."

"Don't say that." Heiji said. "If we hadn't gone, Yukishiro-han would probably be dead. That's enough fer me."

"Are you sure?" Kazuha asked, sounding mildly skeptical. "It seems like an awfully big trade off to me, Heiji. Your humanity for a person's life."

"Of course! A person's life is invaluable. I'd make the same choice again any day!" Heiji nodded, then grimaced a little. Apparently that wasn't enough blood to sate him for the moment, and his eyes narrowed, the roaring of a hunger pain coming back again. Worried, Kazuha knelt back down next to him, recognizing that expression on her longtime friend's face.

"Are you still hungry?" Kazuha asked him, cupping his face in her hands. "You know all you have to do is ask, idiot."

"Not even sure if I can find yer throat right now, idiot." Heiji mumbled, eyes shifting. "Besides, what if somebody sees? Mighty awkward to walk in on someone an' their drinkin' someone else's blood."

"You're going to have to tell them anyways, Heiji, seeing as you're going to have to explain your entire right arm growing back. It's fine. Come on, I'll guide you." Kazuha said, pulling her shirt back a bit so that her neck was exposed.

Heiji gave her a look, but heaved a sigh, obliging her request. After all, fresh blood was supposedly better for healing, he thought grimly. There was always a bit of annoyance that accompanied feeding for Heiji, as if it were an all too obvious reminder that he was no longer human, a fact which, for the most part, he managed to forget. Elongating his fangs, and following Kazuha's guidance, Heiji found her neck easily enough and bit into it, feeling her shudder underneath him. He winced as he felt it, wondering if he would ever get used to that sensation, and hoping that he wouldn't. Still, Kazuha's blood helped, and he could feel the hunger pains finally settling down as he drank from her.

And as the fates would have it, that was how his father found them.

Concentrating on Kazuha as he was (one had to always pay attention to make sure you didn't drain someone in excess), Heiji hadn't even heard him come in. Heizo must have finished up the on site investigation quickly and had come back straight away, to speak with his son. Needless to say, his son drinking blood from his girlfriend's neck was probably not on the list of things he expected to find. For the briefest of moments, Heizo debated in the back of his head whether or not this was better than stumbling upon the young couple doing something _else _in his son's room.

Heiji flinched, drawing back from Kazuha, who now became aware of Heizo's presence, using his sleeve to wipe away traces of blood from his mouth, willing his fangs to shrink back. "Yo, you came back already." He greeted his father, putting on his best grin, and trying to act for all the world as if this were somehow _normal_.

Kazuha, for all of her reassuring words earlier, found herself turning a bright shade of crimson, forcing away the woozy feeling that accompanied having her blood drained. Pulling her shirt up again, she glanced between the two, and put on her best smile, turning towards Heizo. "Oh, hello there! Did you finish up your business at the crime scene?" She asked him, almost _seeing _the awkwardness that hung in the air.

Heizo blinked, recovering his composure, and inclined his head. "For the moment, yes. I left it in the hands of your father. Kazuha, are you alright?" He asked after a moment's hesitation. "You seem a little disorientated. Heiji, what were you...?"

"Ah, about that!" Heiji laughed a little, glancing off to the side, vaguely glad that he couldn't see at the moment, not wanting to see what expression his father was wearing. He'd been okay about the super healing thing apparently, but he didn't know what his feelings would be on the whole 'needs blood to survive' part. "There's a perfectly good reason fer all this, like I said..."

"Heiji's a vampire." Kazuha cut him off, getting straight to the point.

Heizo paused, giving the pair a considering look, eyebrows raised. "A vampire." He repeated, looking between the two of them. "You are saying my son is a fictional bloodsucking creature."

"Obviously not _that _fictional. An' I could do without the creature bit, oi, I have feelings ya know." Heiji mumbled underneath his breath, rubbing the back of his neck, before heaving a sigh. "It's true." He spoke up, facing towards his father, guided by the sound of his heartbeat. "I know that sounds crazy..." Heiji paused, considering everything that his father had seen in the past hour or so. "Maybe not that crazy given the circumstances actually, but it's true. Sorry about it."

Heizo stayed silent for a long while, considering this information. His gaze remained on Heiji and Kazuha for a long while, before he glanced around the room a bit, eyes falling on the broken cooler off to Heiji's side. Peeking out from underneath the broken lid, Heizo could see what appeared to be the edge of a blood bag sticking out from underneath it. Like the ones they had found at the homes of both Gabrielle and the latest victim, a woman by the name of Gufuu Kayoko. True, his natural reaction to what Heiji and Kazuha had just told him would be to contemplate whether they were crazy, but then again...

The more he thought about it, the more everything fell into place, when he allowed himself to believe the existence of vampires was a plausible thing. The initial causes of worry, Heiji's lack of appetite and recent strange hours, as well as his apparent new-found strength and sudden drop in body temperature. It would even explain the strange reaction of the old woman in the police station. It surely would explain the fact that Heiji hadn't died from having his throat sliced and his right arm cut off. It would also go a long way to explaining the scene that Heizo had just witnessed, and the fact that Kazuha was often found wearing bandages around her neck these days. Thinking back, she had started wearing them since after the attempted amusement park bombing, around the same time that Heiji and Kazuha had started to date.

Normal people couldn't heal themselves as his son had, normal people couldn't break holes in the wall with their fists, and normal people didn't walk around with the body temperature of a corpse without any apparent effect on their health. Normal people couldn't grow fangs either, and they most certainly didn't need to drink blood.

"It's really not as bad as it sounds." Kazuha's voice broke apart Heizo's thoughts, growing a bit nervous from his continued silence. "Heiji hasn't done anything wrong! He only ever takes what he needs, and it's not like vampires are monsters or anything. He's the same as he ever was! I mean, he's a little different, but..."

"Yes, I know him well enough to know that he wouldn't, Kazuha." Heizo spoke after a moment. His son could be at times, a reckless idiot, but he was hardly a criminal. "A vampire." He repeated, rubbing his forehead, feeling a headache coming on. It sounded like something out of a teenage fantasy novel, and yet here it was, staring him in the face. Or rather, a bit to the side of his face, apparently his son's vision had yet to recover. Unlike his right arm, Heizo noted, which had seemed to grow back by an inch or two since he had last seen his son. Shaking his head, he walked over to his son, who pulled himself to his feet, steadier now than he had been before.

"Alright." Heizo said after a moment of silence that seemed to go on for hours. "Care to explain in more detail?"

* * *

Between the two of them, Heizo eventually extracted the story in full. His eyes had narrowed when he heard of his son's encounter with the other vampire, frowning tightly. He did _not _like the idea that there was someone out there somewhere, walking about freely, who had hurt his son in even the slightest way. The thought that there was someone out there who had simply left his son to die was enough to cause his blood to boil, even if he didn't show it on the surface. He would look into this at a future date, and would see that this other vampire pay for what he had done. Supernatural being or not, Heizo would see to it that the long arm of the law became long enough to grasp him.

After they were done, Heizo considered their story, mulling it over in his head. They had relocated to the kitchen, and he had woken Shizuka, and called her there as well. She seemed to take everything a little easier than he had, and fretted over her son during their story. She had taken it upon herself to make them all tea, and had eventually sat down with the rest of them in the middle of the story. "And is there any way for you to return to being human?" Heizo asked his son, looking over at him.

"No." Heiji shrugged his shoulders. "If there was, I still wouldn't be like this, trust me." He shook his head. "Sorry, but it's... pretty permanent. I don't really like it a whole lot either." He confessed, frowning. "But it can't be helped, so I just gotta deal with it! It's not really all that bad, I mean the super healin' thing is kinda nice an' the sharper senses have been pretty useful fer investigations!" He flashed a grin at them, and briefly, Heizo wondered how he had never noticed the sharpened canines up until this point. He hadn't been looking for them, of course.

"My poor boy!" Shizuka put her hand over his. "Well no wonder you never want to eat anything I make anymore. But Heiji, you should have told us all this in the first place. We wouldn't have turned you away, you're our son."

"Ah, well." Heiji laughed a little, suddenly feeling a little flustered. "I sorta thought ya would have thought I'd gone crazy." He confessed. "Ya probably would have if there weren't evidence in my favor. Hell, I thought all of this was nonsense a month ago."

"I didn't want to say anything because it wasn't my place to tell." Kazuha added.

"Does anyone else know about this?" Heizo asked.

"Ah, there's Ku-no, Conan-kun, the boy from Mouri-han's place. He learned it by chance. Also, there's Mitsuta-han, she's somethin' like my doctor I guess. Mentor?" He frowned. "There's not really much of anyone else. It's not really the kinda thing you can talk about so easily with other people."

Nodding his head, Heizo was able to finally connect some dots in the recent case. "Then, for the recent string of murders- the victims are all vampires, aren't they?"

"Yeah." Heiji nodded his head. "Just like there are vampires, there are also vampire hunters." He told his father. "She probably learned the identities of all the vampires in the Osaka area from Yamaguchi-han, who she tricked." He frowned at that, a look of anger flashing across his face again, one that Heizo understood better now. "Accordin' to Mitsuta-han their group has some kinda influence up in the upper rings of society. Probably why cases of vampire murders are always halted. Can't have police interferin' in their so-called justice."

"I don't see how killing innocent people could be considered justice." Kazuha frowned, gripping Heiji's hand. "And? Did you get a good look at the culprit?" She asked.

"No, mostly she covered her face. It ain't Sawamura-han though, she's too tall. Could be either Okubo-han, Fujioka-han or Grady-han. Well..." He paused, the detective part of his brain clearly kicking in. "Although she disguised her voice somehow, she didn't seem ta have an accent, an' her Japanese was much better than Grady-han's. Of course, she coulda been actin' when we met her before. Also, Okubo-han was the only one to invite us into her house, although that coulda been a decoy to throw us of her trail. I still find the way Fujioka-han is so darn forgettable to be suspicious as well." Running a hand through his hair, he frowned, trying to piece things together.

"Well, unless she has some way to heal herself, the culprit should have a pretty bum left hand today." Heiji recalled. "I jammed it pretty good, knockin' out that dagger of hers." He told his father. "Probably doesn't wanna use it fer anything, with a huge bruise on it. Her stomach too, but there's no way we'd be able to see that." He laughed a little, trying to envision his stern faced father asking a woman to lift up her shirt, unable to hold back the snort of laughter the mental image provided him. Ah, that would be priceless!

Heiji's laughter was cut off then, and he cocked his head, glancing in the general direction of the door. "Ah, someone's here." He said, as his parents exchanged glances, unable to hear anything. "Oh, it's Mitsuta-han already. She must have flown over on a plane."

Right on cue, there was a knock on the door, and Kazuha got up, telling them she would go get it. Scurrying out of the kitchen, she left Heiji alone with his parents.

Once Kazuha was out of earshot, Heiji's mother gave her son a considering look, reaching over to take a hold of her son's hand. She had realized something the first time she had held it while they were talking, that her son didn't have a pulse anymore. She had never noticed it before, because as of late, Heiji had been actively trying to avoid physical contact with them. Now she understood why. Shizuka wondered if Heizo had realized this as well, and she was trying very hard not to think about the fact that her son must technically be dead already. She wondered what _Heiji _thought about it, which lead her to her question.

"Are you _really _alright, Heiji?" Shizuka asked, meeting his eyes, although she knew he couldn't see her at the moment.

"Ah, well..." Heiji frowned, laughing a little. "I'd be lyin' if I said I was one hundred percent okay." He confessed, shaking his hand free of his mother. She had noticed the fact that he had no pulse, he realized, and he didn't like it. "But well, I guess I'm learnin' to deal with it. I kind of have to, there's nothin' else to do. An' I guess it's not really in my personality to be just sittin' around and dwellin' on the fact that I'm not exactly _normal _anymore. I think it's easier this way, at any rate." Laughing again, he flashed his mother a quick, reassuring grin. "There are definitely a lot more cons than pros, I guess, but ya just sorta have to make the best of it."

"I see." Shizuka said, nodding her head. Well, that was her son alright. Heiji had never been much of one for pessimism. Still, it worried her, and like Heizo, she didn't like the fact that the person who was responsible for doing this to her son was out there somewhere, walking free. "You can always talk to us if you need to. We're your parents after all, we'll always be there for you." She smiled at him, then looked up, as they were rejoined by Kazuha, and an unknown newcomer.

"Good evening." Mitsuta smiled over at the assembled people. "This is our first meeting. I take it you're the parents." She said. "I'm Arishima Mitsuta, I run a clinic for people with your son's _condition_."

She was younger than Heizo had expected, this doctor. He took note of the limp in her left leg, wondering where she had gotten it from. He wondered briefly if she too, was a vampire, but something told Heizo that she wasn't. Standing up, he closed the distance between the two of them, offering his hand. "Hattori Heizo and my wife, Shizuka. It's good to meet you, Arishima-san. Heiji spoke a bit about you, it seems he has faith in your abilities."

"Oh you make me blush." Mitsuta laughed a little, face turning slightly red. She was obviously not used to dealing with people so high up the food chain as Heizo, so to speak. "I do my best. If I could see the patient, though?"

"Yes, of course." Heizo stepped back, allowing Mitsuta access to her son. Heiji scooted his chair back a little, looking in the vampire doctor's general direction. Mitsuta took her bag off her shoulder, and carefully placed it on the table. Pulling out a pair of rubber gloves, she pulled them on, and began her examination. She first checked Heiji's eyes, asking him a series of questions, before checking on his missing right arm, studying it intently. She reached into her bag and pulled out a salve, which, once opened, caused everyone in the room to recoil back from the smell. Heiji, especially sensitive to it, found his left hand clamping over his nose, half gagging at it.

"What _is _that?" He asked, biting his lip to keep himself from throwing up.

"A special salve." Mitsuta told him, apparently used to the smell herself, placing a gloved hand in it, and began applying it to his arm stump. "It encourages healing. I know it smells really bad, but it's also very effective. With this, your arm should be back to normal in the next two days or so. You might have some problems with control with it for awhile after that though, but your body will readjust quickly enough." She told him. "Also, even for a vampire, sleep is good for healing, so make sure to rest up. Well, you're lucky at any rate. Some hunters apply poisons to their blades that make healing go completely haywire."

"As for your eyes," Mitsuta began, peering at them both. "...your vision should gradually return within that time period as well. It doesn't appear that there was any real damage done to them, so the blindness is just temporary." Smiling, she stepped back, pulling off her gloves, folding them up, and sticking them in a side pocket of her bag. "So with proper rest, you should recover just fine, Hattori-kun." She assured him.

"I don't have time ta rest." Heiji told her, seeming displeased with this notion. "In case ya haven't noticed, there's a vampire hunter out there, killin' innocent people."

"Idiot, what good are you going to be when you can't even see?" Kazuha interjected, glowering down at her boyfriend, arms crossed. "You run out there, all you're going to do is get yourself killed again. Besides," she said, arching an eyebrow. "How are you planning on explaining it to people who see you missing half an arm one day and then see it having grown back the next, Heiji? Just stay home and rest properly, idiot."

"But Kazuha-" Heiji started, before he was cut off by his father.

"No, Kazuha is right." Heizo said, his tone telling him not to argue with him. "You're in no condition to leave the house, much less do detective work when the culprit involved wants to kill you. In case you've forgotten, Heiji, I'm more than capable of solving mysteries on my own, and I won't abide having someone who has hurt my son walking free." He told him. "Holds be damned, I'll see this investigation through."

Heiji heaved a sigh, knowing that they both had points. The vampire hunter might be out of commission for awhile, waiting for her left hand to recover. "Alright. But I wanna to be kept in the know, okay? This involves me as well."

"Very well." Heizo nodded his head, before turning to Mitsuta. "Now, Arishima-san, would it trouble you if I were to speak with you in private for a short while?" He asked. "Meanwhile, Heiji, I want you to march upstairs and go to bed. You as well, Kazuha, you can use one of the guest rooms if you don't want to leave yet. It's very late, and it's a school night."

"No, it's no problem." Mitsuta smiled, slinging her bag over her shoulder. She chuckled a little as Heiji grimaced at the idea of his father having a private chat with his doctor, but Kazuha forced him out of the kitchen and up to his bedroom. Grumbling, Heiji complied, and settled down in his bed. After exchanging a brief goodnight kiss, Kazuha left, to go and find a guest bedroom to sleep in. She was awfully tired now, after all.

* * *

"Oi, Hattori, wake up. You haven't really turned into a corpse this time, have you?"

Groaning, Heiji pushed himself up into a sitting position, half forgetting in his sleepy stupor that he was lacking a complete right arm at the moment, and wound up falling back on the bed like an idiot. "Wha, Kudo?" He mumbled, pushing himself up to more success this time. Cracking an eye open, he tried to steady his vision, only to recall it wasn't due to tiredness that his eyes weren't working properly at the moment. Like Mitsuta had promised, his vision did seem to be slowly returning to him. He still couldn't see anything but white when he had fallen asleep last night, but this morning (afternoon? What time was it, Heiji had no idea.) everything seemed to be a vague, colorful blur instead. At least he could make out general shapes now.

"And here I was telling you not to be reckless." Conan heaved a sigh, looking over at his friend. He looked like a mess, his hair in disarray, right arm missing from the elbow down, eyes unfocused and diluted. "Kazuha called me last night, she seemed to think that 'Conan-kun' should know how you were doing. She used your phone even. I almost answered it like I usually do, thankfully I noticed it was her voice on the other end. I came over here on the first train this morning."

"Mornin'?" Heiji grumbled. "What time is it now, Kudo?"

"Four in the afternoon." Conan told him simply.

"_Serious_?" Heiji bolted upright, throwing the covers off of himself. "I've been sleepin' fer that long? Man." He groaned. "Damn, that's half the day wasted."

"Well, you're injured, it's natural that you would want rest." Conan shrugged his shoulders. "It's not like you can go anywhere at the moment in your condition. That's why I came to help, Hattori."

"Isn't it a school day? How did you get out of that?" Heiji asked. "Is Neechan here?" He asked, glancing around in spite of himself. "I don't hear her anywhere."

"Ah, no." Conan laughed a little. "I kind of left this morning without really telling her anything. I told Haibara to tell her that I had gone to Osaka to see you though, so..."

"Neechan's goin' to be furious, Kudo." Heiji arched an eyebrow. "How do you plan on gettin' out of that one?"

"Blame it on you, of course!" Conan said cheerfully, slipping on his 'cute child' mask. "Heiji-niichan begged me to come and help him on his latest case!"

Heiji twitched, glaring at Conan. "That's so not cute, idiot. Ya better be kiddin' about that, Kudo. I'm not exactly in the mood ta deal with a furious Neechan."

"Well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Conan said, taking a seat on the end of Heiji's bed. "Now that I'm here, you might as well fill me in on all of the details, Hattori. I can help you. In exchange, I'll tell you what I learned at the third crime scene when I went there with Kazuha. Your father probably hasn't told you anything about it yet, has he?"

"Just the name of the victim." Heiji told him, frowning. He had a feeling his father was trying to keep him out of this investigation in spite of his promise to keep him up to speed- like hell he would, though. "Well, as for the suspects I talked to yesterday, the only one I can safely rule out is Sawamura-han." He said, thinking back. "The vampire hunter was too short to be her, and Sawamura-han was about my height if I recall correctly." Frowning, he put his hand to his chin, recalling a mental image of the vampire hunter. "Unmistakably a girl, though she had her face well covered. Average height, or perhaps shorter if she used elevated shoes. The other three suspects all more or less have the right body type to match her. She used somethin' to mask her scent as well, and distorted her voice somehow."

"I'm thinkin' at this point our most likely suspects are either Okubo-han or Fujioka-han. Not quite ready to let the American girl off the hook either, though." Heiji added, glancing across the bed towards Conan. "We could narrow down our suspect pool right away if we could check out the left hands of each one, though." Heiji noted. "There's no way they can use it after the wallop I gave to it last night." He told his friend, grinning at him.

"I see." Conan considered this information, turning the facts he had been given about in his head. "Well, as for that, I think I can give you some answers. Your father has had police officers secretly watching the apartments of the remaining three suspects. According to them, both Okubo-san and Grady-san have injuries to their left hands, although both of them are bandaged, so it's impossible to determine exactly what happened to them."

"As for the third victim, Gufuu Kayoko, she apparently was the owner of a flower shop, who moved here two years ago." Conan told him. "Apparently the hunter called her out to the front door, and killed her when she answered the door. She didn't even have any time to think. By the way, what's with all of the crosses found on at the crime scenes?" He suddenly asked, it having struck him as odd.

"I see. As fer the crosses, it's somethin' called the Barrier of Eight. Mitsuta-han talked about it with me awhile ago. A circular pattern of eight crosses is said to have the power to restrain a vampire's powers an' abilities, bring 'em down to level with humans, and keep them from leaving the area." Heiji's eyes narrowed. "Somethin' makes me want to say that the culprit is Okubo-han."

"Wasn't she the only one who invited you in, though?" Conan questioned.

"Yeah, but that somehow seems strange." Heiji answered. "As if she let me in to fool me. At any rate, the hunter seemed rather _amused _at the idea of a vampire playin' detective." Clicking his tongue, Heiji glowered a little. "I ain't just playin' detective, damnit, I am one. That Great Detective of the West title ain't fer nothin' ya know! And anyways, what's so wrong about a vampire tryin' to seek justice?"

"Well, she probably has a distorted view on vampires anyways." Conan reassured his friend. "I wouldn't let it get to you, Hattori. I don't see anything wrong with it. At least people still listen to you." He eyed him.

"Ah, well, that's true." Heiji laughed a little, glancing off to the side. He didn't need to see his friend's expression to know what it was. "Bein' a kid sure sounds like it sucks. Nobody listens to you, and you're too short to do anything."

"Well, being a vampire sounds more difficult, I'll admit." Conan said after a moment. "Speaking of which, from the sound of things, it seems like your parents have learned about it. Did you know Arishima-san is staying here too? Your mother didn't want her leaving until you were fully recovered, apparently. Ah, you should probably go tell them you're awake, by the way." He added after a moment.

"Yeah, I overheard their conversation last night." Heiji stood up, pausing to steady himself for a moment, only to realize that the hand he had tried to use was the one that wasn't there at the moment, causing him to slip and land on his rear with a loud _thud. _"Ow, that smarts." Heiji mumbled, pulling himself back up with his left hand this time. He glared in Conan's direction as he heard the shrunken detective snickering. "Ah, shut up. I'm used ta it bein' there, okay?" He snapped.

"Sorry, sorry." Conan apologized, biting back his fit of laughter. There was something amusing about watching Heiji sans all grace. But there was also something vaguely unnerving however, in the way that despite apparently not being able to see well, Heiji was able to still look exactly at him, something that reminded Conan ever so vaguely of a predator tracking it's prey. He shook off the feeling, and grinned over at the Osakan detective. "So, you need someone to spot you while going down the stairs?"

"I don't need that!" Heiji snapped, glowering at Conan. "I can sort of see now. I'm not gonna fall down the damn stairs."

* * *

"Not a _word, _Kudo_."_ Heiji snapped at his miniature friend, pulling himself off the ground for the second time that day. Grumbling a little, he gave the stairs behind him a small kick, as if they were the ones at fault for his rather unceremonious tumble down them. _Ugh, he's never going to let that one go, is he? _Heiji thought to himself, hearing his Conan burst out into a fit of laughter that was only drowned out by the sounds of a pair of footsteps rushing towards him.

"I'm fine, mom, Kazuha." Heiji told them, recognizing the sounds. Glancing over towards them, he smiled a little at Kazuha, back to his feet now. "I'm up, by the way, in case ya haven't noticed. Where's the old man and Mitsuta-han?" He asked.

"They went out." Kazuha told Heiji, making her way over to his side and taking his available hand, noticing with mild glee that his right arm did in fact, seem to be growing back. "Your father wanted Mitsuta to look over the three corpses, to see if there was anything someone familiar with vampires could notice about them that normal forensics couldn't." Leaning over, she gave him a kiss on the cheek, laughing a little as he flushed bright red and his mother chuckled a little.

"I see." Heiji said, clearing his throat in an attempt to cover up his blush. "Do I really gotta stay cooped up inside today?" He asked again, moving his right arm somewhat. "Look, I'm already healin' up."

"Heiji, I thought we already agreed that you wouldn't be leaving this house until you had properly healed." Shizuka scolded him, giving him a look that meant 'no means no'. Although she covered it well, she had to admit she was somewhat surprised by the fact that her son's arm apparently was growing back. Unlike Heizo, she had seen none of the supposed proof when it had happened, so she was mildly taken aback by it. At the same time, she was of course, rather relieved, pleased to see her son recovering so well. "Besides, you just fell down the stairs because you still can't see. How am I supposed to know you won't go out and get yourself hit by a car or something?"

"I can see a little." Heiji protested, sounding rather grumpy. If there was one thing he didn't like, it was being cooped up in the house. "An' I don't need sleep anymore. Besides, mom, ya know me, like hell I'm just goin' to sit around and wait fer some crazy lady to chop up a bunch of people."

"You didn't do a whole lot of good against her even with your eyesight and both arms." Shizuka noted.

"She took me by surprise. I didn't expect the flash bomb, okay?" Heiji argued, then heaved a sigh, realizing he wasn't going to win this one. "Alright, alright. I'll stay put. Ya can even have the kid watch over me if you don't believe me."

"By the way, Conan-kun, did Ran-chan _really _know that you were here?" Kazuha inquired, giving the supposed little boy a look. Apparently, Conan had told them that Ran knew that he was coming, and that she had let him take the day off of school to see his injured friend. "Because I just got a very... frantic phone call from her a few minutes ago or so."

Conan blanched. "Ah, well, about that Kazuha-neechan..." He sighed, shoulders slumping. "Not exactly?"

Kazuha heaved a sigh, shaking her head. "Really. Between you and Heiji, I don't know which one is more trouble. You should probably give her a call, if you can. She told me she was going to come right over here on the next train as soon as she gets out of school."

"Eh, Neechan's comin' here?" Heiji asked, hearing Conan's panic as he dug out his cell phone and turned it on, wincing at the sheer number of messages that Ran had left him. Heiji got the feeling that not all of them were pretty, either. "Ya know she has no idea, right?"

"I know. Don't worry, Heiji, I'll make sure she doesn't see anything weird, if that's what you're so worried about." Kazuha reassured him, watching as Conan scurried off to call Ran. She didn't need Heiji's super hearing to hear her friend screaming at the small boy over the phone. "Besides, she's just coming to pick up Conan-kun, so she shouldn't be here all that long."

"Well, that's fine, I guess." Heiji frowned, glancing over towards Conan, an amused grin appearing on his face as he all but eavesdropped on their conversation. She sure was angry with him! Sometimes Kudo forgot that almost everyone around him really viewed him as a child, Heiji thought. He tilted his head a little then, hearing a car drive up. "Ah, they're back." He said, recognizing the sounds of his father's and Mitsuta's footsteps as they got out of the car.

"Oh, Heiji, I see you've gotten up." Heizo observed, then wasted no time in catching up to speed, once he caught the expectant look on his son's face. "We've been able to narrow down the suspect pool to Okubo Karen and Claire Grady while you were asleep. Quietly, of course. Fujioka-san has a pretty solid alibi this time, she was working night shift at the hospital. There's a fair number of witnesses who can attest to this fact." He told him, and Heiji recalled that Mizuki had claimed that she was employed as a nurse.

"I see." Heiji frowned, mulling this information over. "So then it really is between Okubo-han and Grady-han, huh." He mumbled to himself, eyes narrowing. His gut instinct was that the culprit was Karen, but there were times when his gut instinct had in fact, turned out to be wrong.

"There's good news too!" Mitsuta chimed in, popping out from behind his father. "There's five more vampires currently living in Osaka. Your father has some trusted officers standing guard over their residences. If the hunter tries anything tonight, they won't get through. Well, of course they don't really know the full details, just that these people are in danger."

"Ah, that's good." Heiji grinned, seeming reassured by that. He guessed the list of trusted officers included Otaki and Kazuha's father, and briefly, Heiji wondered exactly what his father had told them, if anything at all. "Anythin' else? I'm dyin' here."

"We've done some background investigation into the two remaining suspects." Heizo said, pulling out two folders from underneath his arm and passing them to his son, though pausing halfway as he recalled his son couldn't really see at the moment.

Heiji caught this, and rolled his eyes, taking them from his father anyways. "I can have the kid read 'em to me." He told him, noticing that Conan had finally gotten off the phone with Ran. "Right, Conan-kun?" He asked, grinning at him.

"Of course! I'm really good at reading! Everyone at school is always impressed!" Conan exclaimed.

"Right then. I'll be takin' these and this," Heiji said, motioning towards Conan. "An' I'll be in my room if anyone needs me."

"I'll make sure Heiji-niichan doesn't fall down the stairs again!" Conan declared, grinning as Heiji glared daggers towards at him. No, he really wasn't going to forget that one easily.

* * *

To Conan's vague disappointment, Heiji managed to return to his room without any further incidents. They were sitting on the floor at the moment, files spread in front of them. Heiji's mother had come upstairs just after they had gotten settled, carrying a tray filled with snacks for Conan, as well as juice for him, and tea for Heiji. He accepted it, laughing a little as he realized his mother had apparently been doting on Conan since this afternoon, apparently trying to cram the small boy full of the food she couldn't have her own son eat anymore.

Sipping the tea, Heiji glanced over the files in frustration, unable to make out any of the words. Heaving a sigh, he'd finally turned them over towards Conan, who began silently reading them, apparently enjoying Heiji's rising tension as he continued on without saying anything. It was a bit nice, having a chance to get back at Heiji for all the jokes he'd taken at Conan's expense.

"Well, both of the files look pretty strange in some areas." Conan finally remarked, placing down the papers and spreading them out in front of him. Heiji finished his tea, placing it down next him. "Starting with the file for the American girl, she was born in a small town in Nebraska and her parents were both bakers." Conan glanced over at Heiji. "Arishima-san said it, didn't she, that vampire hunting is a job passed from parent to child?"

"Yeah, most often." Heiji told him, getting up and fetching his broken cooler, walking back with it. Healing both his eyes and an entire arm was really making him rather hungry, he noted with some small irritation. He glowered a little upon realizing that the ice in the cooler had all melted, and sighed, pulling out one of the remaining blood bags, noting that he was down to his last three. "Not always though. What about her recent history? What does it say?"

"It says-" Conan paused, glancing over at Heiji who was glowering at the bag, having trouble tearing it open. "Oh give that here already." He snatched it from him, tearing the top off and handing it back to the Osakan vampire. Heiji grinned a little sheepishly, taking it back from him and taking a sip, motioning for Conan to continue. "Like she claimed earlier, she moved to Japan five months ago in order to get over a bad break-up with her boyfriend. Wanted to go somewhere far away from her small town. Apparently, she had been studying Japanese for some time before moving here." Conan frowned, considering this. "She'd been studying it through online courses for the past three years in fact. Hattori, didn't you say that she wasn't all that fluent?"

"Yeah." Heiji recalled, finishing up the blood bag and putting it aside. "She seemed really relieved when we switched to English. She could just be unconfident, though." Heiji noted, thinking it over. "I didn't really notice anythin' strange about it, like I did with Jodie-sensei's Japanese. If she was tryin' to hide how fluent she was, she did a pretty good job of it. Still, it's a good point. What about the other one, Okubo-han?"

"There are some strange things in the records." Conan observed, looking them over. "It says here that she was pulled out of school suddenly in the eleventh grade to be home schooled by her mother and then was transferred to another school during the middle of her senior year. She's moved frequently too, at least once every two or three years. Also, she's spent time living overseas as well. England, France, Belgium too." Shifting through the papers, he came to another one. "It says she was raised by her mother, there's not really any mention of a father. According to this information, her mother is a photographer."

"A family that moves around a lot, huh." Heiji frowned. "Sounds mighty fishy to me. Still, it could be true as well." Sitting cross legged, he listened as Conan continued to go over the records with him. There were points of interest in each one- an aunt Claire was close to was murdered when she was in middle school, and the killer was never found. His father apparently couldn't dig out anymore details on the case without raising some flags, however, and getting an old crime's file from overseas was no easy feat besides that. Claire apparently also wasn't as weak as she looked, she had apparently studied gymnastics since she was a young girl and had won several competitions during high school. He learned that she was left handed, and recalled that the vampire hunter had started out using her left hand.

Karen, as well has having a high rate of being uprooted, also had several hospital admittance records. Broken bones scattered about here and there, fractured ribs during middle school, and a rather nasty gash to her lower torso in high school were all ones that stood out. While in England, her mother had been called into question after Karen had been hospitalized for fractured ribs, under the impression that she was abusing her daughter. She had gotten out of the charge somehow, but Conan couldn't find any more details in the records about that incident, as if they had been wiped away. According to the records, Karen was ambidextrous, which meant that she could still very well be the hunter too.

"Ah, man." Heiji said finally, scratching his head. "The more information we get the more suspicious they both look." Glancing over towards his window, he noticed that the sun was going down- or at least, it seemed that way. His vision had cleared up, but everything was still, for the large part, a vague, colorful blur, though outlines were gradually growing more solid. Blinking, and cocking his head to the side, Heiji paled a little, hearing footsteps coming up towards the house. Oh, he recognized the sound of those footsteps- and could hear the anger in every single one.

"O-oi, Kudo. I think Neechan's here." Heiji glanced down at him, not needing his vision to know that Conan had just turned as white as a sheet. "Get out from here, I still only have half an arm. Neechan can't see me."

"Can't we _both _hide?" Conan asked, not looking forward to this. Heiji could hear Ran's knock on the door now. She must have taken a taxi here.

"She'd tear this house apart lookin' fer you, Kudo." Heiji noted- and he was probably right, Conan thought glumly. Heaving a sigh, the shrunken detective got to his feet and headed out of Heiji's room, to for what all appearances suggested, was his doom. Heiji felt a bit of pity for the not child as he heard him trudge down the stairs, to meet Ran who had been let in by his mother.

After first expressing relief that he was alright, Ran quickly let Conan know exactly how much trouble he was in. She then all but demanded to see Heiji, which caused the person himself to flinch, and he let out a sigh of relief when Conan lied and told Ran that he was sleeping because he wasn't feeling well. Kazuha had joined them by that point and told Ran that she was under the impression that Conan had gotten her permission before coming here, which seemed to cool Ran's anger somewhat towards the Hattori family.

And then, suddenly, there was silence.

Not silence exactly, Heiji could still hear the breathing and heartbeats of the people in the house. He shot up, however, as he heard what sounded like the people gathered at the front door collapsing, eyes going wide as he suddenly sensed something very wrong going on. The hairs on the back of his neck pricked up and he flung open his door, able to make out slumped over shapes by the front door. Training his ears, Heiji realized that they seemed to be sleeping, and whatever had caused this, had also gotten to his father and Mitsuta who were elsewhere in the house.

"Oi, don't tell me." Heiji went pale, rubbing his eyes, trying to get the damn things to _focus _already to no avail.

"That's strange." A woman's distorted voice spoke up as the front door opened again, and in strolled the vampire hunter from last night. She sounded genuinely puzzled however, as she spotted Heiji. "I was sure I created the barrier properly, but you seem fine. Well, no matter. You can barely see from my understanding." Her left hand was bandaged, but she held her dagger easily enough in her right, and Heiji realized that she was most likely ambidextrous. It was this that finally caused some facts to fall into place, and despite the circumstances, he couldn't help but grin a little.

"I could say the same fer you, Okubo-han. You're doin' pretty well after last night, fer a human." Heiji told her, his voice level. She let out a mild surprise when Heiji identified her, but grinned quickly, pulling off her hat and shaking out her black hair, pulling her mask down.

"Very good. I guess your title as Great Detective of the West isn't entirely just for show." Karen told him, her voice regaining it's normal tone. Whatever she had been using to distort her voice wasn't in use now. "To even figure out a way to combat the Barrier of Eight though, I'm surprised. You must have some kind of protection on you, don't you? I've never hear of such a thing, I'm sure the guild would be interested in knowing about it."

"Protection?" Heiji asked, momentarily confused by her question. He recalled then, that sometime while he had slept, Kazuha had taken his charm off of his cell phone, and had looped it around his neck. So it worked after all, he laughed a little to himself. Kazuha would be pleased to hear it. So pleased, in fact, that she might never shut up about it, so Heiji decided then and there to never tell her. "Yeah, you could say that. Does it make you angry?"

"No, not at all. With your eyes, I'd say we're almost on equal footing now, vampire." Karen told him, glancing down at the people slumped by the door, then back up at Heiji, lifting her hands as she caught his glower, silently warning her not to dare touch any of them. "Don't worry. I'm a vampire hunter. I'm not interested in hurting humans, aid you thought they might. They're simply sleeping, but be grateful, vampire, others aren't as kind. Ah, but don't think you can call for help or escape either. Whatever protection you have can't prevent the Barrier of Eight from holding you in, and nobody on the outside can see what's going on in here. Nobody _normal_, at any rate."

"Oh, was that how you confirmed I was a vampire last night?" Heiji asked, cocking his head.

"Well, I had my suspicions beforehand." Karen told him, watching as the Western Detective slowly came down the stairs. His vision was more clear than it had been in the late afternoon- but not by nearly enough, and he was unarmed this time. "You reacted when I invited you inside, for one thing. I also heard there had been a young man present at the so-called crime scenes, who couldn't enter the Barrier of Eight until it was broken by someone. Considering your reputation, it wasn't exactly hard to figure out."

"So, followin' in your mother's footsteps then?" Heiji asked her, reaching the bottom of the stairs. He stopped, checking on everyone gathered there, starting with Kazuha. They did seem to be fine, just sleeping. Standing back up, he turned to face Karen. "Trained by your mother since you were a little kid, I take."

"Very astute. _Too _astute." Karen observed. "I feel sorry for you who was born a human, but someone like you is far too dangerous to have around. Well, you should thank us. I've come to save you from your suffering."

"I ain't sufferin' so badly that I need someone to release me from it." Heiji half-growled, growing irritated with the way this woman spoke. "Yeah, I might not be human anymore, but that doesn't make me a monster. Not that you would understand somethin' like that." Eyes narrowing, he focused all of his attention on Karen. "An' I'm going to see to it that ya face yer crimes properly."

"Oh. What crimes might those be?" Karen inquired simply. "Human law is only meant for humans. Corpses should simply return to being corpses, and not walk about and carry on as men."

"Ya know damn well what I mean!" Heiji snapped, temper flaring. "It doesn't matter _what _I am! So I've already died, so what? I'm human enough anyways, where it counts."

"Then, why don't we make a bet?" Karen asked, tilting her head to the side. "If you manage to beat me in your half blind, one armed state, then I will willingly turn myself in and confess to all of my crimes, and never hunt another vampire. But if I win, well..." she paused, smirking a little. "You'll return to being dead as God intended you to be, I suppose. I'll even be so kind as to leave behind your whole corpse for the sake of your pretty girlfriend to mourn over."

"I'll take that bet." Heiji said, flashing a fierce grin towards her. "An' I'll make ya regret offerin' it too."


	12. Clash

Author's Note: Chapter twelve, and the end of the third arc! We're heading into the home stretch here folks, and things are going to (hopefully) get pretty intense in the next arc. As always Detective Conan and it's characters are not mine, but Mitsuta, Karen, and Claire are. The next chapter might be delayed a bit, since our air conditioning bonked out this morning. During record heat. Ahahahahahaha. What fun.

* * *

Blood and Snow

Chapter Twelve: Clash

"Quite confident, aren't we?" Karen inquired, sporting an amused smirk, flipping her dagger up into the air. "Very well. I'll see that you eat those very words." The dagger came back down, and she caught it by the handle, rushing towards Heiji without warning the moment she did so. Grunting, Heiji jumped upwards, avoiding a strike from the dagger, which trailed silver sparks in it's wake. Landing on the ceiling, he grinned over towards Karen's direction, twitching his hand at her in a 'come and get me' gesture.

"A wall walker, then?" Karen noted, and then barely audible, expressed her relief that it wasn't one of those blasted _flying _vampires. "Well, that'll just make things more interesting. Why don't you come down and play?" She remarked coolly, reaching into her coat and pulling out tiny silver knives, which she threw in Heiji's direction.

Heiji flipped down from the ceiling, avoiding the silver knives, and aimed his landing for the top of the stairs. He missed however, by a bit, and found himself slipping on the second to top stair, briefly losing his footing. Thankfully, this time he caught himself with his left arm, but that was all the time that Karen needed in order to catch up with him. She was on the top of the stairs in a flash, dagger shining through the air, aiming for a head strike. Heiji avoided it, though it bit into his right shoulder. Before he could lose his right arm for the second time in two days, Heiji kicked her, sending her flying back.

The vampire hunter was sent flying, but regained her sense of balance in mid-air, coming to a sliding stop in front of the doorway. "Not bad. You actually have some kind of vague idea of how to fight."

"Ya think that's somethin', ya should see me with a sword." Heiji grinned towards her, feeling the injury to his shoulder already healing. Rather than try the stairs again, Heiji jumped down the rest of them, landing in a crouch, and quickly standing up. Karen wasted no time in resuming the fight, dagger flashing in her right hand as she closed the distance between them, bringing it in for a strike across his chest. Dodging to the side, Heiji attempted to sweep the vampire hunter off her feet with a low kick, but she avoided it neatly, flipping over him and landing on the bottom of the stairs behind him.

"So I've heard. Kendo, is it?" Karen asked. "I did do some research after all. Well, any sword facing this weapon will simply shatter- but I'm sure you noticed that last night." She said coolly, before taking a short leap off the steps, closing the gap between the two of them with it, and struck upwards with her leg, launching a high kick towards his face. Although Heiji pulled backwards, enough distance remained so that she connected with his chin, with enough force to send him slightly upwards.

Shaking off the impact, and realizing with great displeasure that Karen had probably just broken his jaw, Heiji glared over at the vampire hunter, who was spinning her dagger in her hand, as if waiting for him to get back up. She was still taunting him at the moment, Heiji noted with growing frustration. She was tough, this Okubo Karen, her mother had clearly taught her well. Luckily, the jaw healed quickly, and Heiji blocked another incoming strike from Karen, side stepping to avoid it, allowing him enough space to knee her in the stomach.

Karen coughed, her breath going out of her in a _woosh_. She held a firm grip on her dagger, however, and held her ground, jamming it into his knee. That got a rather inhuman sounding hiss of pain from Heiji, as she plucked it out before he had a chance to recover and use this as an opportunity to steal the weapon from her. "Ah, there we go. That's a bit more of the true nature of you creatures." Karen gasped out, talking being a difficult thing when you've just had the wind knocked out of your lungs. Apparently the urge she had to taunt him was just too strong to be ignored, however.

"Countin' involuntary reactions ain't fair." Heiji noted, making some space between the two of them, moving unsteadily as his knee took it's time to heal.

"On the contrary, it's a person's involuntary reactions and habits that can tell us the most about them. Surely you know that, Mister Detective?" Karen asked, smirking at him.

Heiji growled, trying to ignore the fact that she had a point for the moment. So he could make some weird noises, that didn't _exactly _make him a monster. Feeling his knee restore itself, he shifted on his feet, closing the distance between them in a flash, getting behind her. This first burst of his true speed was enough to take Karen by surprise, but Heiji's own blurry vision prevented him from taking full advantage of this, the kick to her back half-missing it's goal, instead grazing her side. She spun around, and pulled out four more little knives from her jacket, throwing them at him.

At close range, there was no way Heiji could dodge them so easily, and the four little knives hit their mark. Heiji's eyes went wide as they did, feeling them all but sizzle and char the places where they had hit, as if his skin and bones were melting underneath him. Jumping backwards, he found himself on the top of the stairs again, using the distance gained to pluck them out of his chest, feeling the knives burning his hands as he tore them out.

"Melted down crosses, doused in holy water." Karen noted. "Effective, right?" She smiled at him, spinning her dagger and rushing up towards the top of the stairs.

Heiji ducked downwards as she came up, out of her line of vision for a split second, until his left fist impacted with her chin. That sent her back down the stairs, this time impacting with the floor with a rather painful sounding _thud _that had Heiji wincing in spite of himself. He was however, managing to restrain his strength this time. Even if she wanted to kill him, he wasn't going to kill her- that wasn't what he did.

Karen's eyes narrowed, pushing herself up as Heiji jumped back down the stairs, rolling to avoid a punch that would have hit her face if it had still been there. Flipping to her feet, she avoided another incoming punch to the stomach, stepping back and glaring at him. "Playtime's over then, I guess." She remarked through gritted teeth, aiming her dagger so that it would go straight through his chin should it impact. Heiji avoided it, about to counter before he felt another dagger pierce his lower left side, before sliding out in that direction. Clutching down at the injury with his left hand, he found blood flowing out from it.

Stepping back, Karen grinned, neatly spinning two daggers in each hand now. "Ara, did you think there was something wrong with my left hand?" She asked him, her tone coy.

Gritting his teeth, unconsciously baring fangs, Heiji couldn't help but laugh a little in spite of the situation. "Aha, I understand it now. There are two of ya." It explained the few strange questions remaining in Heiji's head. The fact that Karen spoke of yesterday as if she had only heard about it from someone- if she were there, she would have already been able to assume that his vision wouldn't be good today, rather than commenting that it was something she had only _heard_. There was also the fact that Karen was noticeably better than the woman he had fought last night, more skilled in close combat. She didn't need to depend on flash bomb tricks to gain the upper hand. He didn't think Karen would have simply run away just because his father had shown up either.

"I see, Grady-han is learnin' from ya, isn't she? Ya mentioned a guild, she hooked up with you through it, correct? Revenge fer her murdered aunt, I'm guessin' is what she's in it for." Heiji grinned a little as Karen flinched, realizing that he was right on the mark. "But she's just an amateur, ya felt a vampire who could fight back was too much of a risk fer her. An' what's more than that, I think the two of ya had some idea that I'd turned before ya even met me."

"Hmph. Right on the mark." Karen observed, raising her eyebrows. "Really, you're too astute. It's a shame. Had you remained human, you would have grown up to be an invaluable asset to the police, but I'm afraid your little detective games must stop today. The last thing we need is a vampire capable of ferreting us out." In a few years, someone like Hattori Heiji could become a threat to the guild in Japan, especially considering that his father had such a high position in the Osakan police force, and was so respected. It was a good thing that he had been reported to the guild on suspicion of being a vampire from an anonymous tip just before she decided to go on her little hunt. It gave her some time to prepare.

"Sorry about that, but I don't intend on dyin' twice. Once was painful enough." Heiji flashed a grin at her. He knew from the sounds that Claire wasn't here, in the house, at the moment, but he got the feeling that she was waiting somewhere nearby, most likely outside the barrier, should something go wrong.

"Too bad. It's not your choice. Your fate has already been sealed." Karen remarked, shifting on her feet before she launched herself at Heiji, daggers at the ready, one aiming for his throat and the other for his lower torso. Heiji didn't lose his grin though, as if he knew something that she didn't. She caught this a moment too late, however, finding herself blown back by a mysterious force, which turned out to be a soccer ball. Her daggers clattered to the ground as she hit the wall, the force of impact knocking over a nearby vase.

"'Bout time, Kudo." Heiji grinned over at his shrunken friend, who was sporting something of an irritated look- and a bruise blooming on his forehead. "I ended up givin' ya the cool part in the end again." He laughed a little.

"You didn't have to wake me up by _kicking me in the head."_ Conan protested, glowering at his friend. "There were other ways, you know."

"Yeah, but she would have noticed any other way!" Heiji grinned at him, something in his expression telling Conan that it was in revenge for the stairs. "Well, in truth I didn't know if it would really work or not," Heiji admitted. "But it turns out that all she used to put ya to sleep was some run of the mill sleepin' gas. Somehow I'm disappointed." Heiji noted, picking up an empty canister. "I was expectin' somethin' flashier."

"Oi, Hattori!" Conan called out suddenly, eyes going wide. Heiji didn't need to look to know what he had seen- the soccer ball impact wasn't enough, Karen had gotten back up, grinning fiercely.

"What a cute trick, little boy." Karen said, wiping some dirt off her face. "But I'm a bit tougher than that. Too bad, you should have stayed asleep. You wouldn't have had to see anything that way."

"Who's just going to lie around sleeping while someone is trying to kill off my best friend?" Conan asked her, readying his watch, eyes narrowed beneath his glasses. He could see Heiji perk up at being called his 'best friend' in the corner of his eyes, and mentally groaned, knowing he was never going to hear the end of it after that.

"Although the loyalty of your friendship touches me, your best friend is a monster." Karen said simply, eyeing the watch warily. Did he have some other trick? Who exactly was this little brat, and where exactly did he get something from that allowed him to randomly spawn soccer balls? She hadn't heard anything about this. She did recognize him though, now that she thought about it for the moment. Wasn't he the little kid that was always at Kaito Kid heists?

"Hattori is a good person." Conan countered. "A reckless, stupid idiot," he added, unable to resist a good jab at Heiji even in this situation. "...but he's a good person. I don't think him simply being something other than human merits him being killed."

"Vampires have eternity, it's only a matter of time." Karen shrugged her shoulders, reaching into her coat and fetching more silver knives, eight of them in total. Heiji gave Conan a look, using his body to block him from Karen, not entirely trusting that she wouldn't try something on him.

Grinning, Karen shifted back and forth on her feet, before launching on her right leg, tossing the first four daggers with her left hand, aiming towards Heiji's right leg. Sensing that there was something else behind this, instead of dodging, he stood his ground, and as predicted, she had another high kick at the ready. This time, however, Heiji blocked it, knocking her off balance and letting go of it. In that short span of time, he then placed his left hand against her stomach, forcing her to the ground. As she struggled, jamming the remaining silver knives into his left arm, Conan gave her a quick shot with his tranquilizer dart. After a moment, she was out cold.

Now Heiji allowed himself to feel the pain seeping into him from those damned silver knives, hissing as he fell down on his rear. "Oi, Kudo, do me a favor and pull these out of me right quick, would ya?"

"Alright." Conan heaved a sigh, plucking all eight of them out of his friend. He winced a little, taking a good look at the charred and burnt flesh that was left behind, the small holes dotting his friend's left arm. "Hattori, this is... how many of these did you take?"

"Maybe twelve?" Heiji laughed a little nervously as he studied them himself- or tried to at any rate, blurry vision not allowing him to get details. In the background, he could hear the noises from outside the house that had been silent until now return, and could also hear the sound of a women's footsteps running away. So Claire was really close by- or she had been, at any rate. Most likely she realized that the barrier had been dropped due to something happening to the spell caster, and had hightailed it out of there, perhaps as instructed earlier. "Right. We probably need to do somethin' about this."

* * *

The best course of action was to wake up Heiji's father, who, upon waking, listened to the situation carefully. Quickly understanding what had happened, he'd gone to take the still unconscious Karen to the police station himself, where she would be questioned upon waking. He would call Heiji as soon as they had some more answers, and advised him to stay wary for Claire in the meantime, who he would issue a warrant for. Somehow, neither father or son thought that she would simply turn herself in.

They had woken Mitsuta next, given the strange smell of burned flesh that was now coming from Heiji's various injuries, which were not healing as the ones from the dagger had. By that time, everyone else was starting to come to, and Conan had left the vampire and the doctor to go try and deal with Ran, and keep her from seeking out Heiji, and ease over any confusion her sudden fainting might have. Mitsuta had scolded the Osakan detective when she learned that he had taken some of the silver knives on purpose, having fetched them from the front in order to observe their properties.

Much to Heiji's displeasure, out came the salve again, and his nose crinkled at the smell. Exactly what the hell was in that stuff anyways? After instructing him to remove his clothes in a rather disinterested voice, Heiji had struggled out of his shirt and pants, remarkably hard to do when you only had one hand. He was bright red by the time Mitsuta finished applying salve to all of the small holes of burned flesh that dotted his left arm, torso and right leg. She patched them over with bandages then, and commented that it whether or not they healed over properly would be 'sort of a crap shoot', not very reassuring, in Heiji's opinion.

"Heiji, are you back here? Conan said I would find you- oh!" Kazuha turned bright red as she came into the room, only to find her boyfriend naked, save for his boxers. "Um, sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your medical treatment..." She said shyly, closing the door behind her, and covering her face with her hands, sinking down against it. Without warning, memories of the time the two of them had been handcuffed together rose up in her, and she couldn't help but think that he had overall gotten bigger since then. Before her thoughts could stray off into the territory of what she couldn't see, the door opened back up again, and Heiji peeked out.

"Ahahaha, sorry 'bout that Kazuha. All dressed now!" Heiji chuckled a little, coming out, his cheeks still tinted pink. "Did the kid fill you in on the situation?"

"He sent me a text message." Kazuha told him, holding up her cell phone, a brief summery of the events on the screen. "Are you alright though, Heiji? Those were a lot of bandages."

"Ah, don't worry, the actual injuries are really small." Heiji promised her, placing his hand on her shoulder. "Lots of stinky salve on 'em, they should heal up without any problem, an-" He paused, hanging his head. "Neechan is starin' at me, ain't she?"

"H-Hattori-kun!" Ran's voice spoke up, sounding startled. As Heiji glanced in her general direction, he could vaguely make out her shocked expression, and Conan lingering by her legs, looking as if he had been trying to convince her not to come this way. "Your _arm_, Conan-kun, you didn't tell me Hattori-kun was this hurt! And all those bandages! Are you sure you don't need to be at a hospital, Hattori-kun?"

"Right then." Heiji groaned, looking over at Ran and putting on his best smile. "Oh, Neechan, I didn't know you'd gotten here already! Oh, the arm, no, it's not as bad as it looks, don't worry!" He laughed it off, closing the small distance between him and the worried Ran, putting his good hand on her shoulder. Locking eyes with her and praying that it would still work while he was half blind, his eyes shifted color and he attempted to establish a brief hold over her.

Ran responded, going still under his hand, look of worry vanishing and being replaced by a blank expression. "Right then, Neechan. In spite of what ya see, I still got both my arms. Right, both of 'em, all there, an' just..." He paused, mulling over his words. "Also I am not a vampire." He added, before releasing the hold. He caught Conan's glower at him then, and he shrugged his shoulders, eyes returning to their normal color. Mentally manipulating his friends and family was something that Heiji tried to avoid, but sometimes it just couldn't be helped.

Ran blinked, shaking off the stray effects of the hold, and frowning a little, wondering what she had just been doing. "Oh, Hattori-kun, there you are!" She said, smiling at him, apparently now unable to notice the half missing right arm. "I came to bring Conan-kun home. I hope he wasn't too much trouble." She said, eyes sliding towards Conan, silently telling him that he was in so much trouble when they got home.

"No, no trouble at all. Sorry Neechan, if I had known he'd come without yer permission, I woulda called ya myself!" Heiji apologized. "Are ya goin' back already? It's already gettin' so late, and it's a couple hours back even by bullet train. You two can stay over if ya like."

Ran considered the offer. On one hand, it was a school night, and they had school the next day. On the other hand, even if they went back home on the bullet train right now, they would still be dead tired by the time they arrived back home. School might not be in the cards then. "Well, I guess if it's not trouble. We'll head back to Beika first thing in the morning then. I'll contact my father."

Turning on her heel, Ran walked off to go make said phone call, while Conan continued to glare at Heiji. "Ah, right. I need to talk with this kid fer awhile, Kazuha, so why don't ya see what mom plans to do about dinner?"

"Ah, alright." Kazuha said, pausing to give Heiji a quick kiss on the lips. "But don't run off to fight anymore vampire hunters while half blind, idiot." She chided him, before heading off to find Shizuka.

"You know, I'm not sure how comfortable I am with you manipulating Ran like that, Hattori." Conan commented dryly, glancing over at his friend.

"Well, I don't like either." Heiji huffed, shrugging his shoulders. "Exactly what was I supposed to do, Kudo? Ya know Neechan doesn't like things like horror stories an' monsters. The last thing I want is her freakin' out on me and not lettin' me see ya anymore. You would hate that too, right, _best friend?_" He asked, adding a leering grin onto the last part.

"I'm sure Ran would be just fine with it." Conan looked unconvinced, but nodded his head. "Well, I guess I wouldn't like that if it did happen. And quit grinning at me like that, Hattori, it's creepy."

"I can't help it! I got all excited when I heard ya say that out loud, Kudo." Heiji continued to grin, ruffling the Eastern Detective's hair in a playful fashion. "Thinkin' if this is really the same guy who always seems ta complain when I show up outta nowhere sayin' such things." He paused then, half-glaring at him. "Coulda done without ya callin' me a reckless idiot though."

"I just said the truth, that's all. What, you haven't noticed that?" Conan asked, shooting a teasing grin back at Heiji. "I don't know anyone else who would have rushed out after a kidnapping victim and come back as a vampire." He shrugged his shoulders, shaking his head.

"Ah, shut up. Ya really aren't cute at all." Heiji muttered.

* * *

Shizuka had gathered everyone together for dinner, and Heiji could hear them chattering away downstairs from his perch on the ceiling. He was sitting up there, cross legged, having finished off his last blood bag earlier, though he was still somewhat hungry. He snorted as he overheard Ran telling some ridiculous story about Conan and the rest of the Detective Boys, vaguely wondering if Kudo would ever be able to live it down if Ran ever learned his true identity. There sure seemed to be plenty of things she would try to kill him for if she found out, he figured. Although her suspicions about Conan always seemed to be there, somewhere, in the back of her head, the only time she really stopped treating him like the kid he looked like was when she was completely suspecting him.

"It's kinda lonely after all." Heiji mumbled, heaving a sigh as he continued to half-listen to Ran's story. "Not bein' able to eat sucks, man." He complained to himself. Well, he was grateful that nobody seemed worse for wear after being exposed to the sleeping gas. He wasn't quite sure what Conan had told Ran about why she had suddenly fallen asleep, but whatever it was, she seemed to have bought it. He hadn't gotten a call from his father yet, but Heiji assumed that one would be coming soon.

Glancing at his right arm, and trying to focus his still blurry vision as much as he could, he tracked the progress of it's regeneration. It had reached the elbow when he had woken up late in the afternoon, and now had grown several more inches, about three, he thought. Man, but would he be glad when it was all there again- having only one arm was super problematic! He wasn't sure what was more irritating, the inconvenience or being cooped up in the house all day because of it. Especially considering that Claire was still out there somewhere, and he couldn't go look for her. He didn't know if she would try something on the other vampires or not, and even with the officers watching over their residences, it still worried Heiji.

"Oi, Hattori, are you here?" Conan asked, having finished dinner and come upstairs. Glancing around the room and seeing his friend nowhere, he then let out a long sigh, before looking upwards. Grinning, Heiji waved at him from the ceiling.

"Yo, Kudo! Ya eat yer fill? I heard the story Neechan was tellin' everyone!" Standing up, he dropped down from the ceiling, landing on his feet in front of Conan. "Not somethin' I'll be forgettin' soon."

Conan turned bright red upon learning that he had overheard, briefly wondering exactly how good Heiji's hearing was now. No wonder he had no trouble finding people, at least, while half blind. "Like I said, that was all because of Genta's idea!"

"Sure, sure, I believe ya!" Heiji laughed, then paused, hearing his phone going off. Answering it, he had a brief conversation with the other person on the line, and shut it. "That was dad. Says Okubo-han woke up, but isn't talkin' ta anyone." He frowned a little, eyes narrowing. "Says she'll only talk ta me, fer whatever reason. The old man says come if I think I can."

"It could be a trap." Conan noted.

"She's in a police station, handcuffed to a chair, an' they took all her weapons. If that's a trap, then I'd be vaguely impressed." Heiji observed. "That said, I kinda need to make a stop outside anyways..." He frowned, glancing over at Conan, "...since I doubt ya'd let me borrow yer girlfriend."

"Borrow my...?" Conan asked, looking briefly befuddled before the meaning of Heiji's words dawned on him. "Oh hell no, Hattori. We may be friends, but Ran is off limits unless it's an emergency." He paused then, glancing down at the floor, turning a light shade of red. "Besides, she's not really my girlfriend anyways- not yet."

"Ya already confessed to her, right? Back in London?" Heiji asked.

"Well, yeah, but we haven't really been able to do anything since then, what with me stuck in this body and all." Conan said. "So it's not exactly like it's official or anything. Not like with you and Kazuha."

"Well, I guess." Heiji admitted, frowning a little. "Ya gonna come with me, Kudo?" He asked him. "If yer worried 'bout it bein' a trap, she might not try anythin' with you in the room as well." He pointed out. "She seemed pretty hesitant on hurtin' humans, at any rate."

"Ran would be mad if I ran off with you." Conan paused, weighing the pros and cons of this. Eventually, the pros won out. "Alright, I'll go with you. But Hattori, what are you going to do about your _arm_?"

"Well, it'll be fine as long as I keep it tucked in my jacket pocket or somethin'." Heiji told him, grabbing his jacket off his chair. He struggled a little to put it on, but finally did so, carefully tucking his partial right arm into the jacket pocket, giving it a test. It had grown back enough so that this, for the most part, managed to conceal the fact that it wasn't all there if one wasn't looking hard enough. And Heiji sort of doubted that people would be.

"Right then, Kudo." Heiji walked over to Conan, and plucked him up, slinging him over his left shoulder and grinning when the shrunken detective protested. "What? Ya didn't think we were goin' out the front door, did you?" He asked him, before heading over towards his window, briefly putting Conan down to slide it open, and grabbing him again before he could squirm away. "Neechan and mom would notice then. Can't have that!" He grinned, gripping Conan tightly before he jumped out of the window, and then over the fence that surrounded the Hattori residence.

* * *

"And you go out and do that _every _night, Hattori?" Conan asked his friend, incredulously as they approached the police station where Karen was being held for questioning.

"Well, not every night." Heiji told him, liking his lips, making sure there were no stray blood traces around his mouth. "Blood bags are great, but they don't always do it." He explained, scratching the back of his head, trying to come up with the right words for it. "Besides, it facilitates better healin' if it's fresh." He told him, pulling his right arm out a bit from his pocket. "See, look, I almost have a wrist now." Heiji said, showing him before he tucked it back into his jacket pocket.

They had delayed their arrival at the police station by a little so he could fill his belly, so to speak. It was a bit earlier at night than he normally hunted, but it wasn't that hard to find places without any people, and he'd posted Conan as a lookout. While it wasn't the first time Conan had witnessed his friend drinking blood, it was the first time he'd seen him drinking blood from anything other than a blood bag or a vial. He could suddenly understand, for a moment, why some people might think of vampires as monsters. It wasn't an accurate assumption- vampires _weren't _monsters, they were simply predators. If their prey didn't happen to be humans, Conan figured that nobody would ever have a problem with them.

No, if vampires were monsters, then as a whole, they would have no problem with draining a human completely dry, even when they weren't hungry, just for shits and giggles. But they didn't do that, or at least, most of them didn't. They didn't even _really _take what they needed, but far less. In theory, if they were to drain a human dry, it would serve them for much longer than simply taking a nibble here and there from various sources every night. Well, Conan supposed that there was a part of human nature that was afraid of predators, a trait that hadn't faded from the old days of hunter gatherers, a rather natural fear. There was also the fear of the unknown intermixed into that, he thought.

Vampires _were _predators though, that much was clear to Conan. He didn't mean it as any kind of insult, it was just a simple truth- there was nothing wrong with it, he thought. In a sense, so were humans, just not as much as they used to be, what with the rise of consumer society. It was just that vampires were far more direct about it, and that made people uncomfortable. Conan wouldn't lie, it was rather strange to watch Heiji carefully evaluate passersby, listening for things which Conan could not even began to hear, a glint in his eyes which reminded Conan of a cat stalking something. There seemed to be a method that he used, as several people passed by before he finally decided on someone.

Heiji's friendly, outgoing nature worked in his favor in these situations, Conan supposed, as he was easily able to chat her up. His eyes had shifted color mid-way through their conversation however, and Conan knew that he was manipulating her somewhat. Well, it wasn't like any sensible person would go into a dark, secluded place with someone she had just met anyways. Once they got back there was when Conan decided it was best if he stopped watching there, some things he didn't really need to see. After that, he had erased her memories, and told her to go back to where she had been when they first met, sending her on her merry way. She stumbled a little, but Heiji assured him she would be fine, it just took a minute or two for the dizziness to wear off.

"It really is a different world you live in, Hattori." Conan couldn't help but observe. "Not always sure if I want to be too much a part of it. Well, that said, I'll always have your back though. You've helped me out against the Black Organization from time to time, so it would be wrong not to."

"Well, it's probably better fer ya not to get mixed up in it while ya still got to deal with them anyways." Heiji laughed a little. "Wouldn't want to bring more trouble knockin' on your door, Kudo. Ya seem to be findin' it well enough on yer own."

"Well, the same could be said of you." Conan observed, arching an eyebrow. "What do you think you're going to learn from Okubo-san anyways? I doubt she's going to be very forthcoming about her allies. What did she call it, some kind of guild?"

"Yeah, I don't think she will be either. But I do have some things I need ta ask her that I think she _will _answer." Heiji told him.

"You're going to ask her about the vampire that turned you." Conan said.

"I'm gonna ask her about the vampire that turned me." Heiji nodded his head. "An ancient, sealed vampire? Sounds like somethin' a vampire hunter would known somethin' about."

They entered the police station then, and Heiji made sure to conceal his incomplete right arm. He asked for his father, and one of the officers steered them in the right direction. It was for show, mostly, Conan realized, upon watching Heiji's face. He had figured out where his father was shortly after entering the station, but was clearly trying to avoid appearing strange. Most likely, he had some way of tracking people by the sound of their heartbeats.

"Heiji, I see you made it in one piece." Heizo noted, pausing as he saw Conan with him, giving his son a confused look. "And you brought the boy from Mouri-san's place exactly why?"

"Ah, he begged to come." Heiji laughed a little, ignoring the dirty look Conan shot him. "I couldn't exactly say no."

Heizo arched an eyebrow, giving his son a look, then merely shook his head. "As long as he doesn't interfere in the investigation, it's fine if he sticks around." Glancing towards the door in front of him, Heizo pulled out a key. "She's in there if you're ready. You sure about this, Heiji? She did try to kill you. She most likely still wants to."

"Yeah, I'm sure." Heiji grinned at him. "Go ahead an' let me in. Is it just you here right now?"

"That's right. I made sure there were no other officers present." Heizo told him. "So you can feel free to speak to each other plainly. Is the child going to come in with you...?"

"Yeah, I think so. Right, kid?" Heiji asked, grinning at Conan.

"I want to go with Heiji-niichan!" Conan nodded his head. "I don't like the idea of him being alone with that mean onee-san!"

"There you have it." Heiji looked back at his father, shrugging his shoulders, giving him a 'what can you do' look. His father decided to oblige, and unlocked the door, letting Conan and Heiji inside, shutting it behind them, and standing guard himself.

"Oh, look what the cat dragged in." Karen remarked, raising her eyebrows as both detectives entered. She had been stripped of her large coat, leaving her in a black tank top and dark colored pants, and a pair of rather scuffed up looking combat boots. She was currently handcuffed to her chair, but otherwise looked remarkably calm.

"You were askin' fer me, so I came." Heiji said, pulling one of the other chairs over and sitting down in it. Conan chose to stand, at least for the moment. "So? It seems like ya had somethin' to say to me."

"Well, you beat me after all. Not fair and square, but then again, I hardly fight fair either. It would be rude for me to go back on a bet, even one with a vampire. You _do _know I'm not going to sell out any other members of my guild, right? Well, it's likely that they'll abandon me anyways, but that's how it goes. It can't be helped." Karen said, a hint of sadness flickering across her blue gray eyes for the briefest of moments. "A vampire hunter getting caught by a vampire and arrested. How laughable. Well, it's not like I'll say anything about it. I'd rather rot in jail than be forced into a mental institution."

"You're going to take all the punishment even though it was your student who killed the last two victims?" Conan questioned, cutting off Heiji before he had the chance.

"Oh, we've got another smart one here. And so young too! You're the kid that's always hanging around Kid heists, aren't you?" Karen asked him. "I thought so. How curious, but not, I think, anything that has to do with my interests." Shrugging her shoulders, she met his eyes. "Well, it's true that I only killed Yamaguchi. The other two were all Claire's first hunt, but I'm not going to sell her out either. Even if you manage to find her, she won't be able to tell you anything either. She's just a rookie, after all. Probably the guild will abandon her as well. They don't need problematic hunters. Well, if she has any sense at all, she'll leave this city."

"No, I didn't think you would tell me anythin' about the guild." Heiji told her, leaning back in his chair. "Well, like you said, Okubo-han, I've got eternity. I'll root you all out eventually."

"Even if you manage that, there will always be hunters, Hattori-_chan_." Karen said, using his name for the first time, purposefully annoying choice of suffix aside, it was something worth noting. "Well, I don't doubt your abilities. The guild won't stop trying to kill you because of them, however, so if you plan to live that long, I suggest you keep your guard up."

"Thank ya for the kind advice." Heiji told her. "I'll make sure to. But there's somethin' else I want to ask ya, Okubo-han, somethin' I think ya will tell me."

"Oh?" Quirking an eyebrow, Karen crossed one leg over the other, leaning back in her chair somewhat. "Do ask away then. I'm dying to here."

"I want to know everythin' ya know about the vampire that turned me." Heiji told her. "I think ya already have some idea."

"So I do." Karen inclined her head. "The vampire sealed in a tomb, locked away in the snowy mountains. And then some idiot went and built a ski lodge near it." She rolled her eyes. "Keeping vampires sealed would be so much easier if not for human expansion. You accidentally released him and he took you for a long overdue meal then, I suppose?"

"Pretty much." Heiji frowned, not liking recalling it.

"Well, if it's sealing, then it's not the work of our guild. Oh, there's more than one, didn't you know?" She asked, smirking a little at Heiji's startled expression. "Of course there is. We kill vampires by severing their heads and burying them on blessed ground. There's another that seals them away." She snorted, rolling her eyes. "Half baked pacifists that they are. They always come unsealed, you think they would learn by now." Karen frowned then, a grim expression crossing her face. "And then there is the third guild."

"The one that kills everyone around the vampire?" Heiji asked, recalling her words from earlier.

"Bingo, right on the mark." Karen nodded her head. "They're scum, the lot of them. If I knew anything about them, I'd tell you everything. I don't care for their kind. Well, that aside," Karen said, tilting her head a little. "If it's about a vampire, I'll gladly provide information. You sure got involved with a tricky one though, Hattori-_chan_."

"You probably already know he's a pureblood, a rare vampire borne from two vampire parents. One in a million shot, that is." Karen told them. "Ancient. Probably been around since roughly the 1600s. Shapeshifter, though it seems he can only use this power once every hundred years- it used to be whenever he wanted to, but there was a curse and a very angry witch involved, so." She shook her head. "Stories with witches in them always get needlessly complicated, so accept my brief summery."

"What I know about him is his method. He's a tricky one, alright." Karen frowned. "He likes power and money, and is rather vain and shallow for a vampire. Concerned, deeply, about appearances. His game is simple. Wait and watch, look for the perfect victim. Learn about them, watch them, learn how they move, how they talk, how they walk, learn what they know, learn what they do. Then when he's satisfied, he kills them and takes their place. That way, in a flash," she snapped one of her fingers, "...he can gain everything for the cost of a single life. Far too heavy a price if you ask me."

"I see." Conan glanced over at Heiji. "Then, we should look for someone rich and powerful." He grimaced. "That is not going to be fun to deal with."

"Oh trust me, rich and powerful vampires are the _worst._" Karen rolled her eyes. "If it's not the resources, it's the infernal _ego_." She shook her head. "But getting back on topic, you're also looking for someone attractive, young, and male. His shapeshifting is somewhat limited after all, changing gender is impossible for him. Wouldn't do it anyways, some kind of macho pride bullshit."

"I see." Heiji frowned, eyes narrowing as he considered this information. "Any other information?"

"Oh, he probably is already aware you're a vampire by now." Karen told him. "So I would avoid letting him on to the fact that you're looking for him. He's appears rather cultured, but he's vicious. Ward your friends and loved ones well, buy some charms or something to protect them. I recommend purified salt, if you can find it." Tilting her head to the side, she met Heiji's eyes. "And, what do you plan on doing if you find him, Hattori-_chan_?"

"I can't really say fer sure." Heiji said after a moment. "Bring him to justice, somehow."

"Easier said than done." Karen observed. "I'm human, I have my limitations. It's not a shock I'd be caught by someone, someday. But you're going after a strong vampire, one much older than you. Also he can fly, so _that's _annoying."

"Well, I'll think of somethin'." Heiji grinned.

"Well, I will say that you're probably smarter than him. Keep your guard up, and between the two of you, you and the kid might be able to outwit him." Karen said. "Well, your father being who he is might provide you some support as well. If you have strings to pull, don't be afraid to pull them against him. Well, if you _do_ manage to deal with him yourself, the guild might even be so kind as to give you something of a grace period. We know full well how to show gratitude, after all. Is there anything else you want to ask me?"

"What exactly are ya goin' to say to the judges then, if not the truth?" Heiji inquired, arching an eyebrow.

"What every captured vampire hunter says. Shits and giggles." Karen told him, grinning. "Look into it sometime, kiddo, and you'll find that there's a staggering statistic of so-called psychos who are former vampire hunters."

There was nothing else to learn after that, so the two detectives had left the room. Heizo hadn't been able to hear their chat, but asked them about it after they came out. Heiji gave him a brief summery of what they'd spoken about, and Heizo's expression turned grim. "Heiji, I want you to tell me if you find any leads on that... other vampire." He paused, some part of him still having trouble accepting the existence of supernatural bloodsuckers. "I don't want you running off after some lead without telling anyone about it."

"I know, I won't." Heiji promised him. "What are ya goin' to do about her?" Heiji asked, glancing back towards the interrogation room.

"If we want to see her properly convicted, we really have no choice but to run along with that story." Heizo said grimly, not liking the idea of it. "Oh, I'll try to get her to talk about the rest of her guild, but I don't think we'll see much from that. So far, no one has turned up any signs of the American girl either. She might have already left Osaka. We'll keep our eyes peeled for her, however, and pass on word to other police agencies. If she manages to get overseas though, we might not have a chance to capture her."

"I see." Heiji nodded, frowning. "Well, I should probably bring the kid back home. Neechan's probably wonderin' where he is by now." Catching his father's look, he laughed a little. "I kinda took him without tellin' her." He admitted.

Heizo and Heiji had a short chat after that, but eventually, his father let the two detectives go. As they departed the police station, Heiji let out a deep sigh. "Man, I really picked a big fish to mess with."

"At least there's only one of him." Conan observed.

"Well, that's true!" Heiji nodded his head. "On the other hand, I don't think I can go an' ask the FBI fer help on this one like you can with those folk."

"Yeah, that probably would be a bad idea." Conan laughed, then glanced up at him. "So you're going to go through with it, Hattori? It'll be dangerous. Okubo-san has a point, he's both older and stronger than you."

Heiji shrugged. "The culprit's always bein' stronger than ya these days hasn't stopped you, Kudo, an' yer human. Why should it stop me?" He grinned at him. "After all, I'm the Great Detective of the West, Hattori Heiji! What do I have to fear? Things always work out one way or another."

"Well, if you need someone to exchange thoughts with, you can come to Tokyo any time. You're always welcome at the Detective Agency." Conan told him.

"Thanks, Kudo!" Heiji grinned at him. "I might end up takin' you up on that offer." He paused as they drew closer to his house, tilting his head, once again catching sounds that Conan couldn't hear. "I hear Neechan in there, an' she sounds pissed. Want to sneak in through the back and pretend we've been at home all along?"

"I don't think she'll buy it, but sure, let's do that, yeah." Conan paled a little, glancing over at Heiji. "If she tries to kill us, you have me express permission to make her... not do that."

"I have the strangest feeling that I will be taking you up on that offer." Heiji laughed nervously.

* * *

Heiji's intuition was right on the mark, and for the second time that evening, Ran had ended up hypnotized. Kazuha had scolded Heiji for it, and then proceeded to scold Conan, for going out past what was sure to be his bed time. That said, the rest of the night passed without much of note. Conan and Ran departed early in the morning, on the bullet train. Heiji and Kazuha had seen them off, Heiji's vision finally almost returning to normal after that night's rest to his great relief. He still only had a half grown right hand though, so he kept that wisely tucked away.

After that, Heiji and Kazuha had begun a search of their own, looking for the burial places of the three missing heads. There were still rumors buzzing about town about the three killings, but it seemed like the capture of the criminal had taken the bite out of some of them. They had dropped by Claire's place on the way, only to find it abandoned, looking like she had packed her things in a great hurry.

They had run into Takako during their search, the braided haired girl running some errands at the moment, who remarked that their classmates were still chattering like idiots about vampires, and how it made her want to gag. She gave Heiji an apology, and asked him if he was alright, having heard that he had been attacked by the serial killer. He told her that he had just been a little banged up, and had spent most of the time sleeping, which was pretty much true. She'd rolled her eyes when she told him that their classmates had taken this as a sigh that of course he was a vampire, which Heiji laughed off. They'd departed ways then, but not after asking Takako if she had seen anything at the shrine her family ran in the past few days.

They had almost decided to call off their search for the day when they found it, a small, but old church that sat mostly unnoticed amidst the Osakan scenery. Kazuha had investigated it for Heiji, connected with him via video phone while he sat outside the church gates. He made an attempt to go inside himself, but the pain sent him recoiling quickly. She had found the signs there, though, in the back of the graveyard, in the oldest section of graves, where nobody really visited anymore. By an oak tree, there was freshly turned dirt. Kazuha had contacted the police then, who came and dug them up after speaking with the priest in charge. Sure enough, three heads were dug up, belonging to the three victims.

The priest claimed no knowledge of this, but the look he gave Heiji, who was lingering outside of the gates was enough to tell the Osakan detective that he was lying, and that he was involved. Probably, if they dug up the graveyard and church grounds, they would find other skulls without bodies attached to them. A thought struck Heiji then that this place was probably founded solely as being a 'blessed ground' on which to bury vampire heads, a thought that turned his stomach.

Outside the gates, Heiji exchanged a few words with Otaki. He didn't say anything, but Heiji knew that his father had more or less told him. That didn't seem to change anything though, which Heiji was glad for. He told Otaki that most likely the priest was involved somehow, at the very least providing both a burial place and likely medical treatment. Heiji told Otaki that he should try and get him brought in for proper police questioning, hoping they could nail him as an accomplice.

It was past sunset when Kazuha and Heiji departed from the church, and parted ways at Kazuha's place. It took another day for the rest of Heiji's right hand to grow back, and Mitsuta made a few final tests on it. She was right about it being hard to control, his strength was going haywire on it. He could barely pick something up without accidentally breaking it in half. That was going to take some practice, he thought to himself. She'd checked the wounds from the silver knives as well, only half of which were actually healing properly. The rest looked like they would leave scars, and one in his lower torso looked like it would stay as it was for quite some time.

It wasn't until Mitsuta left the next morning that Heiji felt like everything was finally over. He collapsed on the couch on the living room, staring up at the ceiling, thinking about almost nothing for a change. He almost didn't hear his father come in for the moment.

"Heiji?" Heizo approached him. "Can we talk?"

"Huh?" Heiji blinked, glancing over, then sitting up. "Sure, what is it?" He asked, grinning at him.

Heizo sat down across from him in a chair, considering his son for a few minutes. Now that his son wasn't hiding his secret, it was clear as day that he had been changed. And yet, at his core, Heizo realized that Heiji was still the exact same Heiji he had always been. "Your mother asked this some days ago, but I feel the need to ask it again- are you really alright with this? With everything?"

Heiji blinked, a bit taken back by the unexpected question. He did know to some extent that his stern faced father worried over him, he just didn't normally show it. He must have been mulling over this for some time if he was willing to talk about it. Thus Heiji figured he deserved a good answer.

"Well, like I said earlier, I'm dealin' with it." Heiji told him. "It's sort of hard to think that just a month ago, I woulda laughed off anyone talkin' about vampires like they were real." He said, chuckling a little. "Well, I sure got told I guess." He shrugged his shoulders at that. "I don't really know. I'm tryin' to get used to it, but at the same time there's parts I'm not sure I should get used to. It's hard to put into words." He frowned.

"But it's really not all bad, like I said. Bein' able to heal quickly is pretty neat!" Heiji flashed a grin. "An' once I got used to it, the enhanced hearin' and other senses are pretty useful. Sure I overhear some things I don't want to sometimes," He shrugged. "But that's no big deal, that happened anyways without the super hearin'. I can identify people by their heartbeats by the way, _that's_ pretty neat." He laughed.

"I guess mostly it's still all pretty strange to me." Heiji confessed after a moment then, a rare serious look crossing his face as he looked over his hands, clenching them and unclenching them for a moment. His right hand lagged a little behind his left, not quite responding to him the way he wanted it to yet. "There's a part of me that still seems to think this is a weird dream. But I've got to face reality, I guess. The sooner I let myself accept that I'm not... I'm not really human anymore I guess, the better off I'll probably be." Heiji frowned at that, leaning back on the couch some, scratching his head, trying to come up with the right words.

"An' I'm not depressed about this or anythin'. That's not me, I don't really do that sort of thing." Heiji told his father, who had remained silent this whole time, simply listening to him. "It's just... _strange_. It troubles me a little, I guess? Does that make any sense at all?"

Heizo nodded his head. "Somewhat, yes." Leaning back in his chair, he frowned a little, recalling his earlier conversation with Mitsuta. "Heiji, what exactly do you plan to do about your future now? You won't grow any older than you are now, you'll eventually have to leave Osaka before people start thinking it's strange."

"Mm, I realize that I guess." Heiji frowned. "Kazuha an' I have talked 'bout it sometimes. Travel around the world maybe, startin' with Japan. There's lots of mysteries out there, ya know, I guess I could solve some of 'em! Truth be told, I'm tryin' not to think too hard about it. Just taking everything one day at a time, mostly. I've got time left before I have to think about leavin' Osaka." He laughed then, grinning suddenly. "Not that I would ever really want to! Who would ever wanna leave such a great place like this?"

Heizo simply shook his head. Yes, that was his son. "I see." He stood up. "Your mother and I will be here for you if you need us, Heiji. The most important parts of you haven't changed at all." He told him. "If need be, we'll protect you."

Heiji blinked, slightly taken aback by that. "Well, thanks, I guess." He grinned. "That means a lot to me actually..." He admitted, suddenly growing sheepish and averting his gaze.

Heizo nodded. "Well, I need to head back into work. You try and go to school starting next week, Heiji, you've been absent for a whole week. Not good for your grades." He told him, starting to head for the door. He paused there, turning back and giving his son a stern look. "And son?"

"Hm?" Heiji blinked, looking over him.

"Don't manipulate my memories _ever again_." Heizo warned him sternly, before leaving.

Heiji laughed nervously after he left, wondering exactly when his father had managed to recall that incident. He really shouldn't underestimate him.


	13. Bloodsucker

Author's Note: So I'm just going to get this out in the open- going on other stories and _harassing _me about updating this one is _INEXCUSABLE. _I am a person, a human being, not some kind of fan fiction pumping machine, and shockingly enough, _I would like to be treated as one. _I am twenty three years old, I have a life, and things to do- so don't be shocked when not everything gets updated the way you guys want! I know some of you guys are like fourteen, fifteen, still in school, so you may or may not be fully able to grasp that, but keep it in mind. That's downright selfish, and pretty immature.

DO NOT. I repeat DO NOT.

_EVER_ harass me about updating. It is not okay, _at all._

Funny thing about the last one two, since I was planning on updating this story today and all- after receiving that anon review this morning _on another story even _made me want to do was _not _update today. Seriously, they didn't even bother saying anything about said story, just harassed me about updating this one. I'm not that petty though, and I don't want to punish those of you who HAVE been patient with me, so here you go. Seriously, how would you guys feel if that happened to you? If you answered anything but 'not very good'- I'm pretty sure yer lying.

If I want to write fan fiction for different fandoms, then I will, get over it. Guess what? Some of those Danny Phantom fans have been waiting for an update for _at least two years_ because life got in the way. Keep that in mind before you complain about a less than a month's lapse in updating.

Also note that it doesn't apply to simple comments of 'please update soon!'- that's not harassment, so don't worry if you've ever put something to that tune at the end of your review. Ya'll are cool, don't worry.

* * *

Blood and Snow

Chapter Thirteen: Bloodsucker

"Oi, Kazuha, ya comin'?"

"Just a minute, Heiji!" Kazuha called out, stuffing another shirt into her suitcase and pausing there, mulling over what she had already packed. Did she have everything she needed? She thought she had packed enough clothes, and it wasn't like she couldn't use the washing machine at Ran's place, or the hotel if they had one, if she ran out of clean clothes. She had packed hygiene items, bandages in case she needed them, various odds and ends, she'd remembered her cell phone this time, her precious charm was where it should be...

Nodding her head, Kazuha decided that she had everything she could possibly need for her trip to Beika to visit her good friend, Ran. It had been two months since she had last seen her, when she had stopped in Osaka briefly in order to pick up Conan. It was hard to believe that time had gone by so quickly since then. Zipping up her suitcase, she headed outside, where Heiji was waiting for her, his bags already packed, a locked cooler slung over one arm, attached to a strap.

"Ya got everythin' this time?" Heiji asked her as they headed out the front door, stopping to say goodbye to Kazuha's parents. They headed towards the train station, planning on taking the bullet train to Tokyo.

"Of course I do, idiot. What about you?" Kazuha asked, glancing over at him, grinning a little. "Did you remember your all important charm?"

_Ah, it was definitely a mistake ta tell her about it protectin' me. _Heiji thought to himself, rolling his eyes as he pulled it out from underneath his shirt. "Yeah, it's right here. Satisfied?"

Kazuha did indeed seem pleased by this, taking Heiji's free hand in hers. "Indeed I am!" She told him cheerfully. "You made sure you got the hotel reservations in order before you left, right? I don't really see any reason that we can't stay at the Detective Agency like we always do."

"We're goin' to be in Tokyo all durin' the break, I think Neechan and that Uncle might think somethin's a little strange 'bout me after awhile." Heiji pointed out. "'Sides, given that uncle's track record, what do ya think would happen if he stumbled upon me sleepin'? He would call the police right away and that would be awfully hard to explain."

"Ah, that's true." Kazuha laughed. "Can you blame people though, Heiji? It's a little bit disturbing. You look _exactly _like a corpse when you're sleeping."

"It can't be helped." Heiji almost pouted. "Technically I am a corpse, Kazuha, grim soundin' as that is." He frowned a little, then shrugged his shoulders, the expression quickly becoming replaced by a grin. "Maybe we should do a haunted house at the school festival this year? I bet I could cause a real riot."

"Rejected." Kazuha glared at him. "You might just cause a _real _riot that way."

"Well, isn't that what I just sai-_oh." _The context of Kazuha's words quickly dawned on him. "Well, that's true I guess. It'd be kinda funny though, right?" He asked her, grinning from ear to ear as usual.

"Idiot, as if the rumors aren't bad enough already. They got even worse after that whole vampire hunter affair, you should be glad nothing like that has happened since then." Kazuha told him. The school had indeed been stirred up with all sorts of rumors after Heiji had returned to school after a week long absence, after being supposedly attacked by the serial killer, Okubo Karen. There were still students in school who thought that the women was really a vampire hunter, and thus, having been attacked by her, Heiji must have really been a vampire as well. They were correct, of course, but that was a secret.

Two months had passed since then, without any incidents. Claire had never turned up, and it was thought she had escaped overseas after all, using guild connections. Karen had been tried and convicted pretty quickly, and was facing life in prison. The bodies had been given proper burials, reunited with their heads. Efforts had been made to seek out the second victim's, the homeless boy named Kazuki, parents, but no trace of them could be found. Probably because they were long since dead, after all. Heiji had managed to connect the priest of the church where the three heads were buried as an accomplice to the crimes, and he had been convicted as well, being given a much lighter sentence than Karen.

Heiji had recovered from his two fights with the vampire hunters, for the most part. Two of the injuries made by Karen's silver knives, melted down crosses doused in holy water, had lingered, on his lower torso, which he kept covered by bandages normally. Kazuha had noted that combined with the burn scar over his right eye, and various other scars that he had gotten from before becoming a vampire, he was starting to gain an impressive collection of them- and that he should also really_ knock it off_.

It had taken Heiji half a month to be able to properly use his right arm again, having regrown after being chopped off by Claire. It had been a half month filled with dropped and crushed items, but he had finally managed to get a feel for using it again. No other hunters turned up in the meantime, and Kazuha and Heiji were able to relax for awhile, enjoying each others company. Things seemed to have returned to normal- or as normal as they were ever going to get anymore, at least.

There had been a few awkward moments, a few bumps and hurdles along the way, but things were starting to settle down into a routine for the first time since Heiji had become a vampire. And Kazuha was glad for it, to be honest, and it seemed to do Heiji a world of good as well. He wasn't really one to talk about it much, but she knew there were things in the back of his mind, that bothered him. He would talk to her about them sometimes, but not often. He didn't really think about them all that often himself, either, it seemed.

"But, I can't wait to see Ran-chan again!" Kazuha grinned. "And I'll bet you're looking forward to seeing Conan-kun. You two really get along well, you know, like brothers or something!"

"Yeah, I guess." Heiji laughed a little, wondering what Kazuha would think if she ever learned that Edogawa Conan was really just the shrunken form of his rival, Kudo Shinichi. Not that he ever planned to tell her that, much as he slipped up with names from time to time. "By the way, Kazuha, did ya ever tell yer folks anythin'?"

"No, not really." Kazuha shook her head. "Your father didn't tell mine anything either. I don't really know how to bring it up, to be honest. What should I say, 'Hey mom and dad! Guess what? You know Heiji right, my childhood friend and current boyfriend? Yeah, did you know he's a vampire now?'" She glanced over at him. "Because that doesn't sound crazy. I think I can understand your dilemma a little better now, Heiji."

"Hey, only _current _boyfriend?" Heiji asked, an expression of mock offense on his face. "Ya plannin' on datin' someone else besides me, Kazuha?"

"Hush, you know what I mean." Kazuha scolded him. "At any rate, I think I'll have to tell them eventually. I mean, it'll get pretty weird after awhile once we're like in our twenties and they realize you haven't changed at all since you were a teenager. Like you're stuck in some kind of long running manga where time can't flow properly for the sake of the plot."

Heiji laughed at that. "Yeah, like _that _would happen."

"Kazuha-chan!" Ran happily called out as she spotted her Osakan friend getting off the train, and waved to her, calling her over to where she was waiting with Conan. Smiling brightly, she caught Kazuha's attention, who pulled on Heiji's hand, and hurried over to go speak to her friend. They talked over the phone, of course, but it just wasn't the same as seeing the person in question in front of you.

"Ran-chan!" Kazuha hugged her, before kneeling down to do the same to Conan, who squirmed in her grip. "And you too, Conan-kun! You both came to pick us up?" She asked, glancing up at Ran.

"That's right. I thought we could drop your bags off at your hotel and then hang out with each other." Ran frowned a little, looking between them. "Are you two really not going to stay at the Detective Agency this time? You know you're always welcome there, in spite of what my father says."

"Yeah, don't worry 'bout us, Neechan." Heiji flashed a grin towards her. "We don't want to keep imposin' on ya after all."

"It's not really imposing though." Ran frowned, not seeming to understand. She had been looking forward to having a sleep over with Kazuha, after all.

Sensing the changing mood, Kazuha quickly changed the topic, clapping her hands. "I've been just dying to get some shopping done in Tokyo, Ran-chan! Why don't we let the boys be boys, while we go hunt for some good bargains? I promised my mom I would bring her back some souvenirs after all."

"Don't get caught up in another murder case this time, Kazuha." Heiji told her, shifting the cooler strap on his arm. He noticed Ran taking note of it, a brief look of puzzlement crossing her face.

"Idiot, of course I won't. I could say the same to you, Heiji." Kazuha shot him a look. "Don't go dragging Conan-kun off with you to some weird crime scene, okay?"

"I'll do my best!" Heiji grinned, giving her a mock salute. "So, then Ku-kid, it's just you an' me then. Ya got any places ya wanna go?" Heiji asked, kneeling down to be more on eye level with his shrunken friend. "Ya know, with yer best friend~?"

Conan glowered a little at his tone, before smiling brightly. "Of course, Heiji-niichan! Are you sure you can get around without falling down anymore stairs?"

Heiji twitched at that. Oh, so that was how he was going to play, huh? "Don't worry about me, kid! I can see perfectly fine now. A lot better than some glasses wearin' shrimp."

The two detectives glowered at each other for awhile, before Conan finally let out a sigh and looked up at Heiji. "You know why I called you out to come here, right Hattori?" He asked him plainly, now that Kazuha and Ran had left.

"Yeah, I've got a pretty good idea." Heiji's expression changed, becoming grim. "The recent serial murders, right?" He asked Conan. "And what's more, the victims have all died due to blood loss, with no other wounds than two small puncture marks around the neck. It doesn't take a genius to figure out why ya called me up, Kudo."

"That's right." Conan nodded. "It's only a hunch, Hattori, but I think they might be caused by the vampire who turned you."

"Seems like a pretty spot on assessment to me." Heiji said, eyes narrowing. "It's only strange that corpses haven't turned up before this. Judgin' from the impression I got of him, I don't think he'd be the type to hold himself back. I got the feelin' that somethin' is goin' on here."

"Maybe he knows you're looking for him?" Conan suggested.

"So he's makin' himself easier to find? Nah, I don't think it's that simple, Kudo. There must be some reason for it." Heiji frowned, mulling over the question. Unable to come up with any answers, he sighed, glancing down at his shrunken friend. "Well, just standin' here ain't gonna give us any answers. We headin' off to any crime scenes?"

"That we are." Conan gave Heiji a quick nod. "Another corpse turned up this morning. Yokohama Arisu, a nineteen year old college student. Majoring in botany, found dead on a remote part of the college campus this morning. Cause of death appeared to be blood loss, but there were no obvious external wounds, and no blood in the area around her either. Naturally, the police are at a loss."

"'Cause they don't know the suspect they're lookin' fer is a vampire, huh?" Heiji mused, adjusting the strap of his bag, before he followed Conan out of the station. "Well, I'd be surprised if they did. None of 'em really look like they're the type to believe in that sort of thing." He shrugged his shoulders. "Have all the victims been women so far?"

"Young, pretty women." Conan nodded his head. "Looks like our vampire is just as shallow about who he feeds on as he is about who he imitates." Frowning, the shrunken detective glanced towards Heiji. "Well, the police of course don't think it's vampires, but there are rumors going around, so you should be careful, Hattori."

"No problem!" The Osakan vampire said cheerfully. "I brought along plenty of blood bags, an' we got Mitsuta-han workin' in this area, so I can get refills if I need 'em. Don't worry about me, Kudo, I've gotten a better handle on things recently. Nobody will know a thing, if all goes well."

"Don't get overconfident, Hattori." Conan warned him. "I was that cocky once, and look what happened to _me_." He gave a wave of his hand towards his shrunken body, emphasizing his point.

Heiji winced a little. "Yeah, that's true enough. Don't worry, Kudo, I'll keep a sharp eye out fer anythin' strange. Well, if I land myself in trouble, I can always use hypnosis to get myself out of it!" He said cheerfully. "It's a pretty handy power, you know?"

"You shouldn't depend on it so much, Hattori." Conan said. "You can only hypnotize one person at a time anyways. If something big happens, you'll be in trouble."

"Well yeah. I've never heard of any vampires who can do more at once though." Heiji shrugged. "Or at least, Mitsuta-han hasn't said anythin' to me about that sorta thing."

"Keep it in mind though, Hattori." Conan told him. "And? I take it from what I heard from Kazuha that she had no idea you're here to investigate these murders."

"No, she has some idea, I think." Heiji said. "She's heard about them, at any rate, and I think she knows just as well as we do about what's really goin' on here. The old man figured it out too." He said, shaking his head. "Well, the good news is that he didn't ask me if I was behind them or anythin' like that and he hasn't been lookin' at me strangely or anythin' as late, which probably means he trusts me."

"I take it Kazuha's not too thrilled about you doing this investigation then." Conan observed.

"She's not, I don't think so." Heiji frowned. "She says she has a bad feelin' or somethin'. I think she's just worryin' too much. I'll be fine. What's the worst that could happen?"

"Don't ask things like that, you're only tempting fate when you do." Conan said, frowning. "Well, just don't make her worry about you, Hattori. You shouldn't do that."

"You're hardly one to talk." Heiji commented, glancing down at his shrunken friend. Conan merely shrugged his shoulders. "I know, I know. It's not by choice. But it sure would be nice if you could ferret out those Black Organization folk already." He flashed a grin at him, quickly cheering up. "Ya could use me fer it ya know! I bet they won't be prepared for a vampire!"

"Well, I'll keep that in mind. But you never know, they did invent a drug that shrinks people." Conan said.

"Isn't that just some kinda alternate effect? I mean it's really supposed ta be a poison, right?" Heiji asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"True enough, but that doesn't change the point that it was able to do that." Conan pointed out. "For all we know Apotoxion could even work on vampires."

"Right, right, I understand. But ya know I'm always ready ta help ya out, Kudo. Ya've helped me out in the past after all, wouldn't do for me not to return the favor." Heiji nodded his head. Any further conversation between the two detectives was cut short by their arrival at their destination.

As expected, the college campus was almost empty, despite it being the early afternoon. Nobody else was around save for the police, who were still investigating the scene. Conan quickly recognized Detectives Takagi and Sato, the two of them discussing something off to one side of the actual crime scene. Takagi looked up first, noticing the two boys. "Oh, Conan-kun and Hattori-kun." He greeted them, causing Sato to look over in their direction as well. Glancing around, as if looking for Kogoro, Takagi frowned, turning back to look down at Conan. "Detective Mouri isn't with you today?"

"Nope! I'm helping out Heiji-niichan today!" Conan told the detective brightly, grinning from ear to ear. "He heard about the cases from Osaka and wanted to come help solve them himself!"

"Heh, is that so?" Sato asked, glancing over at Heiji. She frowned for a moment, tilting her head to the side, seeming to notice something. After a moment, she spoke up. "Have you done something different, Hattori-kun?" She asked him. "Something about you doesn't seem usual."

At this, Heiji paled a little. He knew from Conan that Detective Sato was rather sharp (it was why Conan didn't dare pull the Sleeping Kogoro act with her around), and suddenly felt as if he knew how Conan felt. "N-no, n-not really." Heiji stammered, scratching the back of his head and laughing nervously. "We just haven't seen each other for awhile, right?"

Quick assessing his friends mood, Conan broke in, quickly changing the topic. "We can see the crime scene, right?" He asked Detective Sato. "Heiji-niichan says he wants to help as much as possible!"

"Well, in that case, thank you for coming out here during your school break." Sato smiled, dismissing the strange feeling for a moment. "Well, we've already had the body taken away, but you're welcome to look at the crime scene as long as you don't disturb anything."

"Inspector Megure would have our heads if he found out about it though." Takagi joked.

"At this rate, I think the Inspector's gotten used to outsiders entering his crime scenes." Sato couldn't help but laugh, glancing back at Takagi. "I'm sure he'll be fine with it. Hattori-kun is a famous detective, after all."

"That's true." Takagi admitted, laughing a little, before a grave expression came over his face. "To be honest with you, Hattori-kun, we're at something of a loss here. We don't even understand how she died."

"So I've heard." Heiji frowned, as the quartet headed for the crime scene in question. It had been roped off by police tape, which they ducked underneath. It was easy enough to find the chalk outline marking where the body had been. Sure enough, as Conan had said, it seemed to be an isolated part of the campus, behind an old building that didn't serve for much more than storage. "Do ya have any pictures around?" He asked, glancing back at Takagi and Sato.

"We do." Sato said, fishing them out and passing them over towards Heiji. Thinking of his shrunken friend, Heiji took them, and then kneeled down, so that Conan could get a good look at them as well. "The way her body was found is strange, as if the culprit carefully arranged her. All the other corpses have been like that as well."

It was true, the victim was lying on her back, eyes and mouth closed. They could still see vestiges of the horror that must have been in her expression as she died despite this care, however. Her arms were folded over her chest, her hands clasped together, and her legs carefully paired up next to each other. Even her hair had been brushed back so that it framed her face in an appealing way. If Heiji didn't know any better, he would think this was less of a murder victim, and more of someone playing a corpse in a stage play, from the way everything was neatly arranged.

Heiji had spoken to Karen exactly once since she had been incarcerated, right after the first murder came to his attention. With the creeping feeling he had in the back of his mind that the vampire who had turned him was behind it, he had his father get him access to where she was being held. It was actually a little chilling, despite being locked up in a maximum security woman's prison, Karen almost seemed strangely at ease there, at home in a way the rest of the prisoners weren't. Heiji had no doubt that if the guild she worked for wanted to, they could have broken her out at any moment.

It was a simple, quick conversation. Heiji showed her a picture of the victim and the crime scene that he'd acquired from his father. She'd taken one look at the photograph, and confirmed it was his work.

_"He always had a great appreciation for art and beauty. The corpses he leaves are his art, Hattori-chan." She'd told him calmly, eyes level with his. "You have the right vampire."_

Handing the photographs back to Sato, Heiji stood up, a deep frown on his face. The detective took note of it, but as it looked like Heiji was lost in thought at the moment, she didn't bring it up.

"And there was really nothing on the body that related to the culprit?" Conan asked, sharing his friend's expression. This was a vampire they were talking about, not some kind of robot- at the very _least_, there should have been traces of saliva around the bite wound.

"So it seems." Takagi told him. "Well, we're still investigating the actual crime scene, looking for any minutiae traces of the culprit, but so far we haven't turned up anything. It's sort of like the culprit is some kind of ghost."

"Well, that said, we still don't entirely know how the culprit killed the victim." Sato told the boys. "The cause of death, like the others, was clearly blood loss, but the only wound we found was much too small to have caused that much blood loss. And as you can see," Sato said, spreading her hands out to her sides. "There's no other traces of blood anywhere around here, no evidence that the body was moved other than to pose it. There _should _be traces of blood."

"Honda Ryou." Heiji said finally, without looking up, his eyes fixed on the chalk outline.

"Pardon?" Sato said, blinking, turning her attention back to Heiji.

"Honda Ryou." Heiji said again, turning back to look at Sato. "He's the culprit behind a string of murders in a mountain town." He told them.

"Ah, I remember hearing about that." Takagi said. "It was in revenge for his childhood friend, wasn't it? She was kidnapped and killed by the victims in question. If I recall, they cause of their deaths was..." The older detective paled, a look of realization crossing his face. "Oh. I get it now."

"That's right." Heiji said, shoving his hands inside of his pockets. "Although all of the victims had broken necks, that wasn't the cause of death." He said, frowning. "No, the cause of death was bein' drained of their bodily fluids, mainly their blood. Just like here."

"I see." Sato frowned, considering this information, placing a hand on her chin and narrowing her eyes. "Now that you mention it, I recall reading about that case as well. Are you suggesting the culprit in this case used a similar method to kill these victims?" She asked him, to which Heiji gave a quick nod. "I see. It's true that when you think about it, these murders do seem like less brutal version of those murders."

"But, I heard Honda-san wasn't speaking to anyone about how he killed the victims?" Takagi said, glancing over at Heiji. "They even offered him a plea bargain if he confessed to how he did it, but he refused to take it. How would our murderer have found out the manner of their deaths themselves?"

"Who knows." Heiji shrugged his shoulders. "It may even be the other way around." The detective pointed out. "At any rate, he might be able to answer some questions, so we should have a few words with him."

"No, Hattori-kun, like I just said, Honda-san isn't speaking with anyone." Takagi reminded him.

"I know." Heiji glanced over at him. "But he'll speak ta me. After all, the one who solved that case and got him ta turn himself in was me, after all."

"Eh, really?" Takagi blinked, seeming taken aback. That hadn't been mentioned anywhere, unusual, because from what he knew of Heiji, he loved the attention. The fact that Heiji's name hadn't appeared in any of the articles vaguely reminded Takagi of Shinichi, Heiji's rival, who in his rare appearances these days, asked for the same thing. He briefly paused to wonder as to why the two high school detectives were doing this, but shrugged off the thought, deciding that at the moment, the reason why wasn't very important.

"Really." Heiji nodded his head. "If ya can bring 'em here, I'd appreciate it. I think he'd be more comfortable talkin' ta me in person."

"Hattori-kun, you're suggesting that we transfer a condemned criminal simply so he can talk to someone who isn't even directly involved with the police force." Sato pointed out, quirking an eyebrow. "Are you really so confident he'll talk to you? And that he'll tell us something important?"

"Confident as I can get." Heiji grinned at them, giving the two detectives the idea that he was very confident indeed.

"Well, I'll bring it up with Inspector Megure, but I don't know if he'll go for it." Takagi said. "I'll give you a call when I have any news into that matter though, Hattori-kun. Is there anything else?"

"No." Heiji said, glancing around the crime scene again. "I think we've done about all we can here. Oi, Ku-no, Conan-kun, ya find anythin'?" He asked, glancing towards the shrunken detective in question. While he had been listening to their conversation, he had also been snooping around on his own, looking for anything the detectives might have overlooked.

"No, nothing." Conan said, straightening up and looking back at Heiji with a grim frown. Not being able to find _anything _was nothing sort of bizarre, and Conan wondered briefly if his powers of observation were somehow starting to fail him. No, that wasn't it, he thought- they were, after all, going after a vampire who had hundred years of covering his tracks under his belt. A thought struck Conan then, and he frowned, deciding to hold on to it until he and Heiji were free and clear of any listening ears.

"Then, we'll be goin' then." Heiji told the detectives. "I promised Kazuha I'd meet up with her fer a late lunch."

"Ah!" Sato said suddenly, pounding her fist in her open palm, as if suddenly recalling something. "I got it! That's what's so different about you, Hattori-kun!"

"E-eh?" Heiji blanched, color draining from his face. "W-what do ya mean?"

"Your right eye!" Sato said, and Heiji had to avoid letting out a sigh of relief. "You didn't have that scar there before." She said. "So that's it, I was wondering what it was. Did you get injured somewhere, Hattori-kun?" She asked.

"Ah, yeah." Heiji told her, placing one hand over the burn scar he'd gotten over his right eye from the holy water. "During a case. Well, it's all pretty much healed up, so it's nothing ta really worry about."

"I see." Sato nodded her head, seemingly satisfied for the moment with this explanation. Somehow though, it didn't _entirely _make the strange feeling that she had go away. "Then, if there's nothing else for now, you two should head on. If we find anything new, we'll either call you or Conan-kun." She told him, briefly glancing over at Conan.

"Right." Heiji nodded his head. "Let's go, Conan-kun. We don't want ta keep the girls waitin'."

* * *

"So?" Conan asked, glancing up at Heiji. They had made some distance between the campus now, and they thought it safe to discuss matters where there were no ears that cared about their conversation. "Why the sudden interest in Honda-san again, Hattori? You already know exactly how those murders happen, I don't think he could really provide you with any information you don't already know." Conan told him. "And I doubt he's going to tell the police that vampires are behind it- that, and I'm pretty sure you don't want the police to know that either." He pointed out.

"It's true." Heiji shrugged. "But there is a reason I need Honda-han here." He told him, looking over at Conan. "Remember what I told you? Honda-han has a strong sixth sense. Even with the aura blockin' stuff," Heiji said, motioning to the ear cuffs he wore. "...he still knew right away I was a vampire. Judgin' from his level of preparedness, I think he knew it even 'afore he met me in person. That's some crazy strong sixth sense."

"And you think this sixth sense could be of some help here?" Conan asked him.

"It's worth a shot. Could help us narrow down- or rather, _find _some suspects." Heiji told him. "I don't like workin' in the dark, Kudo. I like ta know what kinda people I'm dealin' with."

"True enough." Conan nodded his head. "I had a thought though when I was looking over the crime scene that might answer at least one question."

"Oh?" Heiji asked, arching an eyebrow. "Do tell."

"Our vampire's a shape shifter of some kind, right?" Conan asked, suddenly unable to believe he had asked that question seriously for a moment. He shook the feeling off however, and continued. "According to what Okubo-san said, he had the majority of his shape shifting powers sealed away, which is why he can only change form once every hundred years ago. But what if even with his powers sealed, he can still alter his form slightly? Like say, change his fingers to match the culprits? If we take the fact that he shape shifts into and replaces an actual person, he must be able to mimic them exactly."

"I see!" Heiji's expression brightened, something finally clicking into place. "It wouldn't be that strange if the only traces of a person that can be found on the victim is from the victim themselves." Nodding his head, he beamed at Conan, reaching down to ruffle his hair. "Good job, Kudo! That's probably how he's been able to erase his traces all this time! Mitsuta-han did say that all a shape shifting vampire needs to be able to morph into someone is a little bit of their blood, or even something like a hair."

Conan looked a little weirded out at that. "So what, like, he would eat the hair or something?"

"Yeah, I guess." Heiji laughed a little. "When ya bring it up, it really does sound gross though. Well, if it were blood, there'd at least be some traces of him on her, so my best guess is he used somethin' like hair after all. If it's just pluckin' a hair from someone's head, anyone can do that fairly easy, especially if it's in a crowded place. Stuff comes out pretty easy with the smallest amount of force an' in a crowd, even if ya noticed, it would be hard ta see who did it. Even easier if ya can just erase memories with a glance. Which means he'd probably marked her, an' the other victims earlier."

"Sounds likely enough." Conan agreed, though still visibly a little grossed out at the idea of someone eating human hair. Blood, he could get used to, but _hair? _No thank you.

* * *

"Conan-kun? I'm going to go throw out the garbage! Can you watch the place for a few minutes?" Ran called out, hoisting the aforementioned garbage bag up. As usual, her father was asleep in something of a drunken stupor on his desk, and Conan was busy looking over the newspaper. Somehow Ran wasn't terribly surprised when she'd learned from Kazuha that she had suspected that Heiji was really using visiting her and Conan as an excuse to investigate the latest string of murders that had been occurring in Tokyo. When she caught Conan looking up various articles on the murders in question after he came back home from his afternoon out with Heiji, it confirmed Ran's suspicions, suspicions which she passed on to Kazuha. As she suspected, her Osakan friend didn't seem pleased to hear it, and somehow, it made Ran wonder.

She knew that Kazuha worried about Heiji, of course she did. Heiji could be rather reckless after all, so it wasn't like Ran could blame her. Having a detective boyfriend herself, rather, she understood all to well what she thought Kazuha was feeling. She felt it every day these days, save for those rare times when Shinichi called, or the even rarer times he showed up in person, confirming that yes, he was in fact, still alive and not lying dead in a gutter somewhere.

Ran tried not to dwell on it often, of course, but the thought was always there in the back of her mind. It didn't help matters much that Shinichi wouldn't even share the details of this mysterious case he had been on during all of this time with her. Was it really so dangerous to let her know? And if it was, how dangerous was it for Shinichi, who was wrapped up in all of this? She shuddered briefly at the thought, pushing it away, instead smiling when she heard Conan call out that he would watch the apartment.

To be honest though, there was something about these latest murders that set Ran sort of on edge. She didn't know what it was, exactly, but she always got a cold shiver up her spine whenever she read about them. It probably had to do something with something silly Sonoko had said to her the other day, after the second murder had happened. She had claimed with a good bit of resolution, that it must have been the work of vampires! After all, what else could drain the blood out of the body and leave just two pinprick marks on the neck behind? There was nothing else, of course! The police were just covering up the truth, claiming not to know who the culprit was, or what the cause of death was.

They wouldn't do that though, would they? At least, Ran didn't think any of the officers she had met would. And _vampires_? Ran shivered again, hauling the garbage bag behind her as she rounded the corner to find the garbage collection point, tossing the bag out with the rest. Dusting off her hands, Ran turned back around, heading back towards the Detective Agency.

"Don't be silly, Ran." She lightly scolded herself. "There's no such thing as vampires. Those only exist in movies and books." She nodded her head. "Sonoko was only trying to scare you." And she'd done a pretty good job at it too, Ran winced, suddenly recalling the scream she had let out during Sonoko's story. Really, that Sonoko, she had too much fun trying to scare her sometimes- someday, Ran would get her back. Perhaps she could get Conan and Heiji to help.

Thinking of Heiji made Ran purse her lips, frowning, her eyebrows furrowing. She felt like there was something she was forgetting about Heiji, something important. It was a strange feeling, and Ran didn't quite understand it either, and didn't like it either. She had caught herself looking at Heiji strangely a few times after they had met up again later in the afternoon. They had a late lunch together, although Heiji had barely touched his food, she recalled. For some reason, Ran couldn't help but think there was something slightly off about the Osakan Detective, but she just couldn't put her finger on it.

Conan and Kazuha didn't act like there was anything strange though, so perhaps Ran was only imagining things. Nodding her head, Ran decided that must have been it. It had just been awhile since they had last seen each other, and that must have been what was causing it. Shivering a little, realizing that the real reason behind her case of the sudden chills was not in fact, her imagination overreacting to strange thoughts, but the fact that tonight was actually a bit chilly. Strange- had it been like this earlier, she wondered, giving her arms a quick rub. Perhaps it was going to rain soon? At any rate, if it kept up like this, perhaps she should set out an extra blanket for Conan tonight, knowing how the young boy often got colds.

Too many colds, Ran thought, sometimes worrying that he missed too much school because of them. Then again, Conan's grades were always great, so she didn't have to worry too much about them.

_Clink. Clunk._

Ran paused, stopping in her tracks, blinking a little. What was that sound? Glancing around, she looked for the source of it. There was a sudden rush of cold air, which caused Ran to shiver all the more, wrapping her arms around her. It was almost summer, so why was it suddenly this cold?

There it was, another strange sound. Ran's eyes narrowed, and she peered behind her, trying to find what it was. Her eyes, however, met with another pair of eyes, pure black pupils staring back into hers. As if she was drawn into than, Ran found herself freezing in place, despite the fact that her brain was now screaming at her to make a break for it to the Detective Agency just steps in front of her. Not fight- but _run._

And Ran could more than handle herself in a fight.

But something, something in the back of her mind, some kind of base instinct told her that this would not be a fight she could win.

But she couldn't move, couldn't turn away, couldn't even blink. Those eyes were transfixed upon hers, and she felt herself slowly drawn more and more into them. There were words, she thought, he was speaking words to her? What were they, she suddenly lost her ability to understand. She was sure he was speaking Japanese, at least, it seemed that way to her. But she couldn't understand what he was saying, and yet, somehow, his words sunk into her, wrapping themselves about her brain, coiling like a snake. She found herself slowly nodding as this man's words- was it a man, she thought it was a man, Ran couldn't tell, all she could see of him were the _eyes_.

And then suddenly, with a jolt, nothing. No man, the air was warm again, no words, no _eyes. _Ran blinked, glancing around her, eyes darting around the empty street. A strange feeling came over her then, and her eyebrows knitted together, as the memory slipped from her grasp. Puzzled, she put a hand to her chin, for a brief moment, feeling that she had felt this sensation before.

And then it was gone, and she couldn't recall what she had just been thinking about. The memory of her strange encounter slipped away from her, as if it had never happened. Blinking, Ran glanced around in confusion about her, before she scratched her head. "Why am I just standing here?" She asked herself, sounding puzzled. Unable to find an answer to that, she simply shrugged her shoulders, not making a big deal out of it, and headed back inside.

"Conan-kun?" She peered back into her father's office, where the young boy was sitting on the couch. She smiled as she spotted him. "Everything fine here?" She asked.

"Sure, Ran-neechan!" Conan grinned over at her, looking up from the newspaper he was reading. He blinked a little as he saw her, noticing that she looked slightly frazzled in a way she hadn't when she had left to take out the garbage. "What about you, Ran-neechan?" Conan asked carefully, feeling a strange knot form in the pit of his stomach. "You look a little strange."

"Eh, do I?" Ran blinked, frowning a little. "Is there something on my face?" She asked, instinctively raising a hand to it, horrified that she might have had a piece of rice or something stuck to it all this time.

"No, it's not that." Conan shook his head, another knot tying in his stomach. "Did you see something outside?" He asked her. Somehow, he wasn't sure if he wanted her to say no or yes in this case, wasn't sure which one would be better.

"No, I didn't see anything." Ran frowned, looking a little confused as to why Conan was asking this. She smiled then a little. "Oh, I get it." She said after a moment, coming over to give the boy's shoulder a squeeze. "You're worried about me because of all the murders that have happened recently. Well, you shouldn't, Conan-kun. You know I know how to protect myself." She said, giving the boy a fierce grin, playfully giving him a light chop to the forehead as if to demonstrate. "Ah, although, I did daze off a bit for a second there, outside the office." She laughed a little, sounding sheepish. "Don't tell anyone though. It's a bit embarrassing, just standing around like a fool!"

Ran's words hardly did anything but assure Conan. Rather, the color drained from his face entirely, leaving the young boy sheet white, a sinking feeling as he realized exactly what that nervous sensation in his stomach had been about. He had been _here. _Here, right in front of the Detective Agency, where he had spoken to Ran- told her _something, _had done _something_. He had been so close to him, so close to _Ran_, and Conan hadn't noticed a thing. Judging from Ran's words, he had erased her memories afterwards. Frantically, Conan's eyes darted up towards Ran's neck, letting out a small sigh of relief to see that it was unblemished.

But the queasy feeling did not go away. What was it that Heiji had suggested to Conan just earlier that afternoon, right after they had been at the crime scene of the latest murder? That the vampire tracked down his victims before hand, they weren't randomly selected when he was hungry.

And he had met with Ran. There was little to no doubt of this in Conan's mind.

The vampire was looking at Ran. It was chilling for two reasons, the most obvious being that Ran was the girl that he loved, and cared for more than anyone else in the world. The second, was because somehow, Conan knew that the vampire knew who Heiji was, how they were related, and was possibly playing a game with them.

And that was not an idea that Conan cared for one bit. Swallowing, and barely noticing Ran's concerned expression, as she looked distraught about how he had paled suddenly, he felt her warm hand on his forehead, barely heard her express relief that he didn't seem to have a fever. "R-Ran-neechan." Conan stammered, brushing her hand away and standing up. "I need to go call Heiji-niichan." He told her slowly.

"Hattori-kun?" Ran asked, blinking a little. "Sure. Are you sure you're feeling alright though, Conan-kun? You don't have a fever, but you look a bit pale."

Conan gave her his best smile, trying not to make her worry. "No, I'm fine Ran-neechan! I'm not getting sick or anything." He assured her. "I'm going upstairs, okay?" Smiling, Conan made his way upstairs.

Frowning, Ran watched him go, a perplexed look on her face. If she didn't know any better, it almost seemed as if Conan had been scared. Afraid of something. But she wasn't sure what- Conan was a pretty brave kid, after all! Shaking her head, she put it out of her mind, and instead, busied herself, with cleaning up the discarded beer cans her father had lying about the table.

Well, whatever it was, she would ask Conan about it a little later.


End file.
